The Cordova daily times., 1919-02-05

tie exercises under single command.
Tho officer to command the first joint
exercises probably will be Admiral
William s. Benson, the present chief
of operations, who is now in Paris.
after the war in which the United
States has engaged" Secretary Dan
iels said, "the navy has gone back
ward. When the civil war ended the
American navy was one of the strong
est and most efficient afloat, yet
yet within a few years it refrigerated
and continued to do so until along in
the sos it was one of the weakest on
the seas. It had taken on new life
some time before the Spanish war
broke out, but after that war 1t be-
gan to decline.
when the United States entered
the European war, in April, 1917, the
navy was at high state of efficiency,
the highest in the history of the coun-
try. Now the European war is ended,
and we do not wish to see the retro
gression which followed the Civil war
repeated. This is one of the minor
reasons for the organization Of two
great American fleets.
"The organization of these fleets
will create healthy rivalry in the
service. 1t will provide a method OF
competition within the service which
is bound, in our opinion, to act as
tonic for both officers and men, and
will give to America a personnel with
out a peer for efficiency in the world
Instead of retrogression we will have
progression based on the lessons we
nave learned in this present war.
Before this war l made study OF
the best disposition of the navy in
time of peace, and I reached the con-
clusion that instead of one great fleet
In the Atlantic we should have one
great fleet in the Atlantic and an
other in the Pacific, and that these
two fleets should be created Just as
soon as sufficient units had been built
to justify the division. Now we have
those units, and we expect to have
the fleets in being within the next few
months.
For time there was some opposi-
ton to the two-fleet proposition, and
so took up the matter with our most
experienced officers, Admiral Benson,
Admiral Badger, Admiral Mayo and
others of long experience and unques-
toned ability. These officers hailed
the plan with enthusiasm.
II wish to make it clear that while
we will have two fleets, they will
nevertheless in the larger and national
sense remain single interchangeable
fleet. The Panama canal makes pos
sible the holding of joint maneuvers
whenever they are necessary.
"The organization Of the two fleets
viii begin az soon az Admiral Benson,
chief Of operations. returns to this
country from Europe, ssbstl tlN BE-
within the next few weeks. Il u prob
able that first the oIi-burninq dread
naughts will be ordered to the Pacific
and the coal burners kept In these
waters. The reason for this 10, OF
course, due to the fact that oil is
plentiful on the Pacific side and coal
on this side. Eventually We will be
in position to ignore this fact, for
We hope soon to begin the develop
ment, for naval purposes, Of the great
coal fields Of Alaska"
1t is probable that the Pennsyl-
vsnia, which is now the flagship OF
the Atlantic fleet, will be the flagship
of the new Pacific fleet, and that the
New York, which was the American
flagship in the grand feet under Sir
David Beatty, will fly the pennant OF
the commander-in-chief of the new At
lantic feet.
The placing of the oil-burning