Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-12-13
Sec. Wilbur Pleads
For Navy Funds
In Annual Report

Washington. Dec. 11-LP-A pIea
LOT loosening of the governments
purse strings so that the navy NAV
MAINTAIN the full strength provided
by law. was made by Secretary Will
81 bur today in his annual report tn
President Coolidge.
The question OF officer personnel
had developed into dilemma. the
secretary said, and with limited funds
at hand it had been necessary to con-
centrate on repairs rather than on
alterations required to keep first line
ships up to essential military stand
ards for fleet service.
In 1925. Mr.. Wilbur said. the navy
got along with an understood person.
nel-5160 line officers being on the
rolls when the report was compiled.
The authorized strength is 5499. Lac.
of funds also made impossible the
maintenance of the Required $4,000
enlisted strength the average for the
year being nearly 1000 under that
figure
The secretary gave it as his view
that reduction of the Naval Academy
enrolment had brought the navy to
face serious question as to how il
could function with an insufficient
number of officers. He urged that
appointments to Annapolis again be
made on the basis of five for each
member of Congress, instead of the
three necessitated by recent cuts in
the budget.
THE present limit of appointments
to three for each member will not
provide sufficient commissioned per-
sonnet for maintaining the strength
of the line of the navy on a proper
basis" the report said "even If no
appointments are made to the various
staff corps from graduates of the Ma
val Academy"
Destroyed squadron 2 was mention
ed as one in which improvements had
been deferred because of the cost.
Economy was also exercised by strik-
ing from the list small craft and
wooden vessels acquired in 1918 and
1919 which require extensive re-
pairs"
Except for the fact that the proper
enlisted strength could not be afford
ed "the enlisted personnel situation
during the year has been uniformly
excellent" with three out of every
four men whose enlistments expired
re-enlisting or extended their enlist
ments, the report continued. The
shortage of man-power in the fleet
was mitigated somewhat by delay IN
the completion of the aircraft carriers
Saratoga and Lexington. On their
completion these two vessels will re-
uuire a complement aggregating more
than 5000 men.
Since funds have not yet been appro-
priated, the report said work on the
airSbinG of O.
OO0. 900 cubic feet has not been started.
Some concern was noted among air
officials in this connection because the
supply of he1ium obtainable from the
Fort Worth, Tex, plant has been
dwindling.
The secretary made brief mention OF
the disaster to the navy arsenal at
Lake Denmark. n. J., asserting that
operations of a navy always were at
tended by hazards of varying degrees
and that consequently accidents occur
no matter how diligent the efforts TO
avoid them. recommendations would
he made to Congress, he said, cover
ing plans to guard against such &C.
currences as the Denmark explosion.
Illustrating the variety and scope OF
the navys work in peacetimes, Secre-
tary Wilbur pointed TO the activities Oh
warships in protecting life In China,
Central America and elsewhere, and OF
the navy's part in aiding in the rellef
of Florida hurricane sufferers, and In
doing a hundred other jobs. important
in themselves, but which do not grip
the popular Imagination.
AS to aviation, the report said
study of requirements of aviation ma
terial had shown the percentage of re-
fections. due to failure to meet phys
ical Standards coupled with those due
to examinations during flight training,
remained high, as about 70 per cent.
The question of fight eliminations
was investigated and it was decided
that they should be reduced by more