The Washington times., 1924-05-07

eighteen! These two lines of battle
balance off against each other with
some advantages on one side and
some advantages on the other.
Our five best ships, when con.
sidered from the standpoint of a
combination Of shooting power and
OF resistive capacity against attack.
are better, on the whole, than the
I five best British ships.
Our three best ships are the
Maryland, the West Virginia and
the Colorado. Our next two best
are the California and the Ten.
nessee. Even these two can throw
their shells $4,000 yards. In the
present British fleet there Is only
one ship-namely, the Hood-which
can throw a shell more than
24,3O0 yards.
When the new British ship the
Rodney and the new British ship
the Nelson have been completed,
the British will have three ultra
modern capital ships equal in
strength approximately to our three
best, but by no means better than
our best.
]
the whole outrank their best five
for power to give punishment and
for power to take punishment in
| battle.
1t is not believed that any mod
erniAng changes need to be made
in our five best ships. 1t is not
proposed by the Navy Department
that any such changes should be
authorized by Congress.
Our troubles begin as we go down
the line toward our older ships.
Among them there is a need for
better protection against shells
need for better protection against
there is a need for increasing the
range of their fire.
If the British battle fleet were
drawn up in a column with the
newest and best ships in front and
the older and poorer ships toward
the rear, and if the American battle
fleet were similarly drawn up, the
comparison would be as expressed
today to this writer by Assistant
Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt in
the following words:
1.-THE tail of the American column
is not as good as the tall u the
British column. The head of the
American column is superior 10 the
head of the British column.
Roosevelt Cites Needs.
The center of our column IL
stronger in certain features thar
theirs, while theirs in certain fea
lures is stronger than ours. Tnert
are necessary, in order to brjnf
our battleships to a proper and
equal state OF efficiency, certai.l
specific r.1o6ernizations. The most
pressing Of these will be authorized
If the bill suggested by the Navy
Department ana now before the com
mittees of Congress is passed.
Our ships, with the exception OF
the deficiencies to which allusior
! has been made, are in excellent
, shape. Our personnel is in fine
fettle. When the deficiencies In
question have been remedied, the
country will have a battle line
equal to airy in the world"
The whole proposition in the mat
: ter of capital ships boils down &c
the following conclusion:
! All eighteen of our capital ships
are sturdy vessels, amply able TO
pound and to be pounded; but there
are thirteen of them which were left
without undermining features Of GER
tain sorts at time when it was the
policy of this Government instead OF
undermining its old battleshipS, to
build new ones.
The Washington arms conference
interrupted our building program
We sacrificed great and beautiful
ships on the stocks. We had been
trusting to those ships. Meanwhile
the British had been engaged in
undermining their old battIeships
Now We propose to modernize our
| old ones. That is all there is of the
controversy in this particular mat.
| ter.
Our thirteen battleships Of prewar
design all need to be enabled to give
their guns a higher upward tilt In
order to be able to shoot as far as
the British ships corresponding "a
them In the British battle line. This
can be readily and easily done.
All thirteen need also to be
PADDED out on each side with a kind
OF bulge which Is called a blister
ana which helps to repel the effects
OF torpedoes. This also can be done
as readily as the British have done
Six Of the thirteen need to have
tneir decks strengthened in order
10 ne on terms Of equality with their
BRUSH opposil' numbers In fight
Congress Urged to Act.
All these things have been
Drought to the attention Of Con.
sress several times and they present
no technical difficulties IL Congress
w,i! remove the legislative diff
1t happens further that there are
SM Vi our battleships which still
Durh coal instead Of oil and are
tn.S un-mOdern and relatively In.
elllclent. 1t happens also, however
s shaa the British have four such
The only remaining question in
the matter of battleships is the
question of speed. This will be
discussed In the course of tomor.
lows article. In speed the British
OuCClaSS us. 1t is not to be sup.
posed, however, that the relatively
SLOW speeds Of our battleships have
9een produced by negligence. Our
ueslgners knew the value of high
speeds as well as the British de.
signers knew it. The difference be.
tween the British fleet and our
'1leet IN this respect represents not
any oatwittlnR of us by the British
Dut deliberate conscious firm
poicy on our part to subordinate
the element of speed to other values
winch we believe to be greater.