Evening star., 1922-12-04
By the Associated Press.

discussion of the results of the arma-
merts conference. said that the Navy
department had been "entirely In
sympathy with the purposes of the
conference. and predicted that the
nenehts OF eliminating competitive
more and more fully as the years 10
by.
For the first time in the history Of
our country" he said. 1.-The Navy and
Congress have a definite naval policy
and building and maintenance stand
ara TO work to. standard which is
proportionate to our position as a
world power. The maintenance Of
this standard in all respects is neces-
Sary to our defense and to our pres
tige."
:s8 Ships Out Of COmmission.
The Navy Secretary reported that
during the fiscal year SO naval ves-
sells. including six second-line battle
ships and 173 iirst-line dcstroyers, had
been placed out of commission. and
continued:
This sweeping reduction was neces-
STATED by the cutting down Of the
enlisted strength of the Navy 20 a
total authorized strength OF $4,000
mon All the battleships not retained in
the treaty on the limitation of arma-
| ment and number of other vessels.
on account of their material condi
tion. have been placed out or ordered
out OF commission, to be either
scrapped or sold. large number of
vessels were decommissioned with
view to retaining them in good con-
dition for future service. The 1i3
destroyers. first line. are practically
new vessels constructed during the
war. and great care was taken in de-
should suffer the least possible de-
terioration during the period that
they will lie idle at our naval bases
at Philadelphia. Pa. and San Diego,
Calf"
Because of frequent changes and
it had been impossible to maintain
permanency in the officer personnel.
All temporary commissions had been
terminated. he said. by the end Of
! the fiscal year. and the regular ros-
ter of authorized line officers stood
lied total of 5,i99. The number of
enlisted men in the service at the
end of the year on June so last was
s9.51S. it having been impracticable
the reduction to $4,000 ordered by
Congress. The Naval Reserve num-
bered 5.34o officers and 1896 men.
The Secretary made no recommen-
dation for a change in the law re-
garding the personnel of the regular
the pending measure for reorgani-
cation CT the reserve be passed 10
stabilize the reserves and provide
for healthy increase in their num-
oers and activities
Civilian Force Reduced.
Because of the reduced activities
of the Navy. Mr.. DENLY said, the
from sI,5ss on June 30. 1921, to
54.o6s on June 80 1929, cutting the
salary roll almost in half.
Recountine some of the accom-
plishments OF the air arm of the
). Navy w during the year. Mr.. DENLY
THE development of aviation as
an integral part of the fleet. with
types of aircraft suited to every need
Of the naval forces, has been the
outstanding feature of the past year
in naval aeronautics. The rapid
strides that have been made in or
ganization and development work
have fully justified the establishment
of the bureau of aeronautics, and the
work of this bureau is also reflected
in the general contribution that has
been made to the advancement of in
dustrial and commercial aviation in
this country
Among the accomplishment of his
department during the past year the
Navy Secretary recounted "the de-
velopment of aviation as an integral
part of the fleet" diversion of
greater percentage of repair work to
government stations. increased steam
ing efficiency Of battle craft, return
of the officer personnel to a perma-
nent basis after the temporary enlarge
ment during the war. an extension of
the Navy school facilities for enlisted
men and Inauguration of extensive
and advance experiments in gunnery.
He praised the record of the Marine
Corps during the year. saying that
previous high standards of the corps
had been maintained fully.