The 'Commoner
VOL. 15, NO. 5
s
'4 -
The Preparedness of the Navy
The progress mado by the United States navy
during tho past two years is reviewed by Secre
tary of tho Navy Daniels in a letter to President
Harry A. Garfiold, of Williams College. Presi
dent Garfield a few days ago addressed the fol
lowing inquiry to Secretary Daniels:
"I shall be obliged if you will have sent to me
an authoritative statement concerning the pres
ent status of tho navy equipment of the United
States. I wish to be in a position to meet tho
statements made by Representative Gardner of
Massachusetts alleging that tho United States is
at present unprepared for military emergencies."
In reply to President Garfield, the following
letter was sent:
Washington, D. C., April 24, 1915.
My dear President Garfield:
I am In receipt of your recent favor asking for
"an authoritative statement concerning the pres
ent status of the navy equipment of the United
States," and take pleasure in complying with
your request as far as is compatible.
There are now in active service, fully commis
sioned, 225 vessels of all characters, which is 36
more than were fully commissioned when I be
came secretary. There are also 101 vessels of
various types, in reserve and in ordinary and
uncommissioned, capable of rendering service in
war. We have under construction and author
ized 77 vessels (9 dreadnaughts, 23 destroyers,
38 submarines and 7 auxiliaries) as compared
with 54 vessels (5 dreadnaughts,' 14 destroyers,
23 submarines, 3 gunboats and 9 auxiliaries)
which were under construction on March 1.
1913.
All the vessels enumerated, those in active
service and those in reserve, are supplied with
munitions of war. No navy makes public the
quantity of ammunition and torpedoes, mines
and other implements of naval warfare which it
keeps ready. It may be said, however, that with
in the last two years the quantity of all has been
steadily and greatly increased. For example,
we have increased the number jof mines, on hand
and in process of manufacture, by 244 per cent.
With reference to torpedoes, the increase in two
years has been 90 per cent. By the enlargement
of the naval powder factbry, we shall soon be
able almost to double its former capacity, and
like enlargement of the torpedo works and the
equipment of a plant to construct mines, will still
further increase, at decreased cost, the quantity
of such stock, and the possession of these plants
in tiines) of 'emergency will enable the depart
ment to be in a better state of. preparedness as
regards Mthe supply of ammunition, than ever, be
fore." '
PERSONNEL OF THE NAVY
The personnel of the navy is , at present com
pospdpr 4,35 line, staff and warrant officers,
and 53,171 enlisted men. Increases in the num
ber of officers is dependent almost entirely upon
tho output of the naval academy, admission to
which is. restricted by statute. The number of
onlj&ted men also is restricted, and 'the navy is
today rbcruited to tho maximum strength al
lowed. There are now with the colora 5,824 more
mon an increase of 12 per cent than there
were on March 1, 1914.
My professional training as a journalist has
always inclined me to the conviction that any
officer, within the prescribed limits recognized
in the navy, should feel free to express his opi.n
ion in regard to matters in the service; and there
is not an officer who commands a ship today Who
could or would say that his ship, without or
within, was not as good as it was two years ago,
or that the officers who command it and the
crews whoman it, are not as thoroughly dis
ciplined, sober, loyal and effluent a.s they were,
two years ago, or as they ever had been.
Tho Atlantic fleet has just returned from Gu
antanamo whero it has for many years held its
annual winter practices. This year more battle
ships and destroyers have participated in the
maneuvers, and for a longer period, than ever
before.
Under tho direction of Admiral Fletcher, upon
plans Qvolved, at the naval war college and ap
proved by tho department, the fleet has been
busied in tactics to try out its efficiency and
readiness. All reports tell of the enthusiasm
of officers and mon in this practice and the splen
did record made by the ships. The fleet is now
in Tangier Sound and on tho southern drill
grounds, where it will be busy in target practice
mntil May when it moves to New York fr a
week's well-earned leave. Then will come tho
review at New York, followed by maneuvers in
Narrangansett bay region, and finally the re
view in Hampton Roads prior to sailing through
the Panama canal to the Pacific enroute to the
exposition at San Francisco.
SPRING PRACTICE
These spring practices followed close upon the
heels of valuable maneuvers and tactics in Oc
tober, November and December last. This was
indeed strenuous practice, but it is the way the
navy is kept fit and ready, and the new admiral
in command of the fleet, and the department
planned such extensivq evolutions because the
only way that the navy can always be prepared
is by practice and then more practice. This
simple statement of the operations of the fleet
since October is one of the best answers I can
give to your question as to the navy's prepared
ness. The necessity of keeping ships in Mexico
last year denied Adihiral Badger the opportunity
for as long practice as he had wisely planned,
but the sudden call for the expedition to Vera
Cruz demanded and exacted unusual service to
which the fleet responded with an alacrity and
readiness which amply justify the faith of the
country that there exists today no more efficient
institution than the United States navy. Some
critics have said the efficiency of the fleet was
reduced by reason of going to Vera Cruz. To
our regret, certain maneuvers and target prac
tice of value were necessarily omitted. The
emergency experience, however, of a year of
stress and strain was of far greater value in one
important respect than the woll-planned routine,
because it gave a demonstration of the readiness
of the navy in every department, afloat and
ashore, to meet an urgent call. Its flexibility
was shown in adjusting itself to entirely new
and unexpected situations, as well as its remark
able adaptability in handling every problem pre
sented to it.
It must be conceded by all that the best school
and preparation for war is war itself, and it was
almost under this condition that our fleet acted
in proceeding almost in a day to Mexican waters.
The stay at Vera Cruz, however, did not prevent
practice, for the ships Individually or in di
visions, during a great part of the time held
tactical maneuvers, torpedo-proving practice and
subcaliber drills in preparation for target-prac-
LivL
For many years, officers have written and
talked about. the formation of advance base ma
terial and the practice of exercising landing par
ties of seamen and marines in the use of this im
portant adjunct to naval warfare. Congress ap
propriated money for this important plan of
campaign, but never until January of last year
was the navy, thus exercised. There had been
Plenty of talk, but not until January of last yea?
7rnSr Unertaln- Tnen' under instructions
from the, department, Admiral" Badger carried
out a comprehensive exercise in which the pro
fessional advantages gained by officers and men
were inestimable. Three months after th s ex
tensive practice had been given for the first time
in our navy, the same fleet, and the same mn
were called upon to land at Vera Cruz, an?i2
the taking of that city the navy carried out u
der fire what had been learned at Culebra
These details are given because every man
knows that the efficiency of the navy depends
upon constant practice, but nobody in the navv
thinks anything like perfection has been reached
and constant study and work are pursued wUh
the aim of continued improvement. If the fleet
was efficient in any degree before Admirals Bad-
fZL?iTQtChQ? carried out e drills thus de
tailed, it is much more efficient today, and it will
be made more ready every year. All that capable
and trained officers and men can do to acenrn
plish this steady improvement is being donT
Only the uninformed or the partisan dlny the
steady improvement -bf the past two yearn
thanks chiefly to Rear Admiral Badger Z a S'
miral Fietcher. ager and Ad-
EXPENDITURES IN NAVY
But, you say, how about equipment and n
aration tor military emergencies? Whit ha,"
been done since Wilson's inauguration to make
the nayy stronger in ships, in ammunition in
mines, in torpedoes? These questions ; SI ?5i
utmost importance.' Lot T tVom
First, as to ships: Durinc the inaf mr. .
or the Tatt aaminiBtrationToongrlrs'aSoS
the construction of two dreadnaughts to mai
about $13,000,000 each. . During 'the first tl
years of .the Wilson administration, upon Zl
recommendation, congress authorized the W
struction of .five dreadnaughts to cost about u
000,00.0 each. Stated in dollars, the Wilson ad"
ministration, in its first two years, authorial
seventy million dollars to be spent on the c K
fighting force of. the navy, as against twenty-six
million authorized during the last two years of
Taft's; stated in numbers, it authorized 5 dread
naughts instead of two; and stated in effective
ness, the Ave dreadnaughts authorized under
Wilson will mount 36 more 14-inch guns than
the two authorized under Mr. Taft.
SUBMARINES
Second, as to submarines: These wonderful
agencies of war have astonished the world in the
present European conflict. The Sixty-third con
gress, elected with Wilson, adbpted iny recom
mendation to give us all the money it could for
submarines. It ordered the construction of
three sea-going submarines, the largest ever au
thorized by any country, and twenty-three sub
marines of the same size and type which have
done such fearful execution in the present war.
These submarines will cost $16,260,000. Now
what was done during the last two years under
Taft? Twelve submarines, to cost $7,958,936,
were authorized. Some of our submarines are
not as perfect 'as they should be, nor are the
submarines of any other nation. Under this ad
ministration, however, the board of inspections
has adopted stricter tests before accepting sub
marines from contractors. Nobody has, as yet,
perfected a satisfactory engine or satisfactory
battery for submarines. Upon my invitation,
Mr. Edison, last year, at the New York navy
yard, went down into a submarine and close
ly studied its every feature. He thinks he has
a battery that will meet the need. Our tests at
the Brooklyn navy yard cause us to believe Mr.
Edison has the right principle. Without wait
ing for the completion of his battery, he has been
given an order for two, one to be put into an
old submarine, accepted before March 4, 1913,
whose battery does not give satisfaction, and
one for a new submarine which I have ordered
built in the Portsmouth (N. H) navy yard. Pri
vate firms building submarines have not given
entire satisfaction. We have- equipped the
Portsmouth navy yard to build submarines, and
by competition between private and government
construction it is hoped that every obstacle may
be overcome.
TORPEDOES
Third, as to torpedoes: A statement has been
put in circulation that the navy is not making
adequate provision to supply itself with torpe
does. The only answer I can make is to state
the fact that we eiher have on hand or have
placed orders for all the torpedoes the general
board prescribes. Is this administration going
backward in this respect? It would not be
proper to make public the number of torpedoes
we have on hand, but this much may be said:
For every 100 torpedoes which the department
had on hand in March, 1913, ninety-six more are
completed or in course of manufacture. Therefore
within a few months, the stfpply of torpedoes
will be almost doubled. Upon my recommenda
tion, congress has enlarged the torpedo plant at
Newport, R. I., more than trebling Its .capacity,
and the cost of manufacturing torpedoes has
been reduced from $4,202.11 to $3,245.72 each.
The reduction has already effected a saving of
$326,700.00.
AS TO MINES AND MINING
During the last two years unprecedented pro
gress has been made in the expansion of our
mining equipment. This was begun and was
well under way before the last congress met. The
navy is not, as many suppose, charged with the
mining of our harbors. That is a function of the
army. ' The extent of the mining operations of
the navy is confined to the immediate viqinity of
the fleets and such mining as may be necessary
on the high seas. For the execution of this work
and a further study and development of mines
and mining the navy nowthas three ships. The
San Francisco and Baltimore, mine layers and
mine depot ships, and the Dubuque, mine train
ing ship. The general board as early as 190S
recognized the need o&'mine depot vessels and
recommended the conversion of two old cruisers
for this purpose. The' same year, congress au
thorized the conversion of the San Francisco and
Baltimore. Work was started on the San Fran
cisco June 12, 1908, but was not completed un
til December 2, 1911. Work on the Baltimore
O.S. .
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