Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-07
u. s. GAINS NAVAL POWER
BY FORMING TWO FLEETS

the acid test of war COMPOUNDED their
assertions. that one more time will
| make no difference"
For Strength ana Unity
So the plan went into effect. 1t is SO
perfectly elaborated and co-ordinated
that a brief message from the secre-
tary of the navy would merge the At
lantic and Pacific fleets into one
great American fleet. on either side
of the continent, long before any
coasts. The so-called division,
therefore, makes for strength and
unity as well as for full knowledge
; of all the conditions in both oceans.
Much cruising in the Atlantic has
made naval officers very familiar
with it's peculiarities 1t is a waltz
able acquaintanceship with which to
supplement the charts. The Pacific
should be known equally Well
For many years the policy of in
creased construction of naval craft
looked toward the time when a
strong fleet in the Pacific should
give the same assurance on that
coast as the Atlantic fleet gave to
the. eastern coast Manifestly this
assurance could not be granted until
the Panama canal was opened and
the navy was big enough to or
ganize two powerful fleets so consti-
tuted that, by means of the canal,
they could be united in a few days.
Protects Both Coasts
The large increase in the number
of destroyers eve will soon nave 500
and the completion and commission
ing of new dreadnaughts and other
craft have made possil 'e what the
protection of our coasts has long
demanded-the maintenance of pow
erful divisions of the American fleet
in both the Atlantic and the Pacific
The wisdom of this policy has been
questioned by those who have not
| taken the pains to understand the
plans and Organization and by some
Officers who thing Jersey City is the
western frontier of the United
States.
If the Panama canal had not been
! completed this now Organization
, could not have been adopted wisely
1t was mainly for the purpose OF
making easy and quick passage OF
our naval force through the canal
vest so much money in building the
canal. In fact, the real reason the
canal was built when it. was can
be traced to the voyage of the Ore
gon around South America in 1898
That long trip watched with almost
!
ination to construct an isthmiar
canal. It's building had been thwart.
ed time and again by Influential,
men interested in transcontinentaI
railroads They thought it's construc.
ton would so decrease their freight
rates more and more as a big mer'
chant marine is maintained, but the
business of our country expands sc
rapidly that there is an abundance
of freight for both rail and water
| transportation companies.
NO Toll on Naval Vessels
1t was because the canal was built
largely for naval purposes that Presi'
dent Wilson upheld me in my con.
| tention with the secretary Of wal
that no toll should be charged fol
naval vessels going through the
| canal.
The creation of a strong Pacific
fleet was the result of long consid.
GRAFTON and study. Long. before the
world war, when Rear Admiral Cam.
eron McRae Winslow was made q
full admiral and placed in command
of a Pacific fleet. then small and
containing no modern dreadnaught
I directed him to make a study of the
needs Of the Pacific. Other Officers
similar studies.
AS a result. in 1S14-15. I had decid-
fleet, which could be united with
the Atlantic fleet within a few days
notice. The world war postponed
the expansion in ship construction
hal been so great we were able to
constitute two fleets, each having
lS5 ships, aggregating for each $685.
900 tons, or 100000 more tonnage in
fleet which Fighting Bob Evans
took around the world on that IA
nous voyage ordered by President
Roosevelt.
warning to the world
with the completion of the ships
authorized in the three-year program
equaled by any other nation: and
the fleet, when combined, will be an
armada which will compel respect,
and I trust, be a warning to any ma
ton not to emulate Germany's greed
for world conquest
The decision of the navy DEPART
ment to organize and establish a
new Pacific fleet of strength equal
to the Atlantic fleet is based on
sound reasons, both strategical and
ing the entire navy organized in two
grand fleets, the Atlantic and the
Pacific, will undoubtedly greatly i'm
prove the efficiency of the navy as
whole, due to the fact that more
war problem exercises on a large
scale can be carried out during a
years work, and these exercises can
also be conducted on the two oceans
which are on the shores of the
United States. In addition the spirit
of competition in the results to be
obtained in target practice, engineer
| ing records and other various forms
of fleet exercises and training will
| undoubtedly produce a fine effect
| on the morale, and thereby greatly
| increase the general efficiency.
Navy Not Divided"
1t is a mistake to speak of the
navy as being divided" into two
| fleets, in the sense that the two
| fleets are widely separated, and
! therefore, do not support each other.
| The more correct expression is to
say that the navy is organized in
| two great fleets, each composed of
| the same number of divisions of the
various types of ships which go to
make UP that tactical organization
called a fleet.
This is true because the Panama
| canal permits the two fleets, at all
! times, to be in close touch with
each other. Either fleet could be
sent from the main strategical po-
sitions on one coast to those posi-
| lions on the other coast, within COM
| paratively few days, and as this pc
| riod is less than tina tin which any
enemy of any important strength
could attack either one Of our sea-
coasts, it is evident that in no way
| l~O h. lA.Sk tuof iNNa 10,