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Show Best Board Urges Policy of Expansion That Will Insure Protection of Coast and Commerce. Program for 1921 Will Include Two Battleships, Battle-ships, Battle Cruiser, j Scouts and Submarines. I 1 WASill.VHTOX, I !. Hwoiiiwii. illations of navy plmut:i1 lioaiM for j Dm Nulling )rii;ran) l'ov l'.'-l in-'lmlo two I ba'.tk..hii-w. one Initio rritis'r, ti n scout I ol'ilis.rs, Lllim:iyi:ie "'flotilla h tulers" j an.! six sul'tnarin,"-?. !'!: navy ... f t!;- "nit. 4 States should I ultlinat..'ly lv t .Ual to the most powerful power-ful itiaitltalned bv any other nation of !.! tuirW," 1101 later than 1?25. the report re-port lukls. ''lie stalrine::'. of polie- us :o the ultimate ulti-mate st!"'ne,th of ti.e navv ttnd the lluie v.brii it shotii.l te a-'hieNrl is a ivltera-; ivltera-; l i. .11 o: the hoard's i-osition as earrled in i Its re-.,,;t to s. jretary I-anlels. eae.i year j sin-- i ..I.".. j Coritr-irv o :;:s custom for the last .ew I years. Mr. LaiuCs did not make pjidic j the boa: .fs nvonimenilatlons wli' ii his own annual report was release!, although it was at t ache. j o that docu men t as it witit t!ie president. Air. Dankls did not liunseii" j-. i-ommruid any building ino-gram. ino-gram. witbliuhhrg tuis for later pre-en-tation. f. S. NAVY "SECOND TO NONE" ADVOCATED. In its recommendations made pn-Lc today to-day at the d.-virtment. the general hoard urjjed a (.obey of naval txpausiou that will guarantee protection of coast lin-s and the rapidly expanding lie-rchant marine ma-rine again. -t any naal power in the world. Sjc-j pro;eetioc, Cie boai'd de-j de-j dared, can he had only by increasing . Aniera'aii s.--a r,,,ver lo a point where it is 'second to noi;.," and maintaining it at that level. Tne board fnrt'e r asserted tiiat the j war iiaving demonstrated that possession j of a fleet powerful enough to protect i its commerco is vital to any nation in j time of hostilities, the maintenance o' ' such a navy by Lie United Stales would j be a "great preventive of "war, for no nation would likely provoke hostilities when her own commerce would (hereby bo imperiled." The necessary fnt ui e strength of the American itav'v . there-! there-! fore, mus: depend, tne board said, upon th'f naval strength of the "powers in a I position to challenge our legitimate eom-i eom-i mereial ex Mansion upon tlie high seas." i HEAVIER ARMAMENT i ADVISED I OR SHIPS. f I er!a - in" 1 he l--r,-:i I ..t ,.m...ii . . - . v;.r v;s the itnmr-nse aflantao of uniformity uni-formity in speed and armament of first line ships, tiie hoard asserted it already w;ik evident ihat. first lino ships f , he ne-n.-an navy must have heavier armament arma-ment than the lL'-im-h grims, of tin- first droadiiounhts. These ships. tlu! )na,.d said. were, rapidly assumitiK the same re-buionship re-buionship to the invi's su)errlr.'ad-nuliirhls su)errlr.'ad-nuliirhls tha.t th okh-r hattleships In-ar lo tlie first di eadnouKhts iiiemselves with the time appmaeliin)i v.hun t!n-y eiui no lonp-r I.e. e-msalereil as effe.-t'ive fust hue ships. 'J'lif (Jerrnan fled . the lioard ueelared in this com lei-t ie-n. was handi-eapped handi-eapped anil not sti eiiRt hened In- l,t pres-en.:e. pres-en.:e. of pro-dreadnoughts of slower speed and lighter armament in tlie haltle of Jutland. heeaus'J they redueed "tlH- in-i-neuverinK tind fighting powers ol the en-fire en-fire force." BUILDING MORE SCOUT CRUISERS RECOMMENDED. KmpLasiziug the defieichev of the American navy in scoul cruisers, the board, recommending Un- construction of i en of these ships, cited the, value of such era ft ro t he Lriti:-h fleet, during the war and declared them to be essentia! essen-tia! to "any well-balanced navv." Recommending Rec-ommending construction of fj-0 ships of thc superdest royer type, the board emphasized em-phasized the usefulness of such ships in connection with destroyer operations. As a means uf applying- and developing the lessons of the war in submarine const con-st ruci ion, the board recommended construction con-struction of six types of pilut submarine rather ihan a large building program in present types. me destroyer and one submarine, tender completed the program. Km- development and const ruction of aircraft during the year the board recommended recom-mended an appropriation uf Ooojjijo with S'LOinUiOH to be used for experimental experimen-tal construction. WASHIN' ITON. Deo. D. The main body of t he Atlantic fleet will lea e eastern seaport s for Guan t a na mo. 'n ba , .January ' , Secretary 1 'anieis announced today. The flagship i 'onns 1 vania, flying fly-ing the four-starred flag of Admiral Wilson Wil-son -will leave t he force. I 'articular attention will be panl lo main ; halter'' target practice on thc winter drill ' grounds this year, Secretary DanieL said. |