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Show mm m is URGED BY ADMIRAL Badger Pleads for a Navy Second to None Before House Committee Commit-tee on Naval Affairs, Urges Appropriations to Provide Needful Ships by 1925; Refers to Recent War Lesson. WASlltXCTOX, Dec Neither the end of hostilities nor proposals for a leuguo ol! nations iias altered tb.0 policy of Hie general board of the navy in regard to making the navy second lo none in the "world. Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, chairman oi' tho executive committee of the board, today to-day told the house naval affairs committee com-mittee that the navy should be equal to that of any oilier nation by 1025, and urged that sufficient appropriations to make this possible be made by congress. ' ' The general board believes thai", under tho present world conditions and the conditions likely , 1 o obtain in Ihc future,-" ' Admiral Dadfjcr said, ' 1 the United Stales navy should steadily continue con-tinue to increase. Ultimately it should be equal to I lie most powerful maintained main-tained by any other nation of tho world. Year hy year development should be nitido as' eunt-i.stenr with the facilities of tho country, but tho limit above defined de-fined frhotild be attained not later than PRINCIPAL SUPPORT OP LEAGUE OP NATIONS. ' ' N a vies must be the principal support sup-port of a league of nations, and the United States, from its wealth, influence influ-ence and power, will be called upon to eontril.uite a large share of the international interna-tional police force to render such a league, effective.'' The dut' of the navy, the admiral said, will be not only to guard the country coun-try against invasion, but to protect as well the great merchant marine now being built. Completion of the three-year building program authorized in 1916, and which was halted to build anti-submarine craft, wan recommended by Admiral lladger. Work has not yet been started on six battleships, six battle cruisers, two scout cruisers, nine fleet eubma-ri eubma-ri ncs, two destroyer tenders and one fleet submarine tender, he said. Lack of ships of this type, he declared, would have been fatal to the United States if it had been fighting the war alone. MOST POWERFUL VESSELS IN WORLD. Admiral I'.adger said that, type for fype, American battleships compared favorably in power with those of any other nation, pointing out that the six battleships soon to be laid down are designed for a displacement of 43,000 tons of 2.' knots speed, a main battery of twelve i-inch guns and are heavily armored. They will be the most powerful power-ful vessels in the world, he said. The admiral stated that provisions for 103 destroyers is made in the 1020 three-year prog i am. There arc now 342-either 342-either built or boiog built, he said, and in Rt'2.j there will, therefore, be a total ; of 4m a-morcl vessels, compared with j Kngland 's filri a) present. "'Tho submarine prora m calis for j twenty-nnt lifted, fmhmarmes. 1 Hi S-tvjic, I twenty-four anti-submarines and 1'ort.v-two 1'ort.v-two mine-layer?, ' ' he said. " Thre are now built, building or authorized a total of 1 10 coast submarines and j twelve fleet submarines. The general bo.-i ni estimates t bui. a total of j P-i y po boats nro rrnnifd. and rproir.- ments 'hat j-ev. pry-fivp he put boriyed I now. Tbe H-iii.-h navy ha now built ! nr buiidini: 22 submarine, of wiib-h ; iiM Mi; v-fi'. i nre of larger Tier! trr:?. '' j URGES FACILITIES ! PROVIDED FOR FLEET. ; Adnvrat Radr nm,).ul7.l tne ncd ' i'.i" :.!'. i; ion a 1 n-; n'-- wee wr? and ratrn"i jvel-. ai.d pr.:-:o ' mi- devinrntont d-;.-ine 1:ic war '.' th a'rplane carrier. i'bt c!au- mc';t wl'.i k,. j.rocc.id in itr.e future by operations in the air. he i ftatcri, aii.-; The or n era! i-oard re.-r,;r-! Mirn'i- That th.' fleet be provided with J ia-i!itii s to cairv on srfh operations. i ii-pn-i; ;on ci :,r ships 'urrend-red j bv iiHllViin- ret with V.'.f pca;e con-; con-; U-fi a Admrai fJaCiTcr tat1.-: :-t --e-(;fir;o To q.ie-Tif.u.- H the r!o;e of 'ii1 I - " i ' ' i n . - to v. 1 1 e ;-j o r 1 1 r !:t he ' (CcDtinurd en rage Two.) GREATER FLEET IS URGED B ill! (Continued from Page One.) stroyeH, returned or distributed among the allies. An nccouiit of the development and scope of activities of German submarines subma-rines was iiven by Admiral Badger. Ten years aio the submarine was not larger than 150 tous, could cruise less than 500 miles and was very vulnerable. Today thev are thirty times larger and can make trips of 7UU0 miles aid more. Thev havft destroyed hundreds of ves-. sels "and have laid mines in sea lanes and in harbors, making constant sweeping sweep-ing operations necessary. o one knows, the admiral said, how much further the development will go. He told the committee that the country never has been, and probably never will be again, aa well prepared to build a powerful jlleel as at present. Hundreds of thousands of men have become skilled in shipyards which have been building vessels for the merchant marine, he said, and as fast as these yards are released from that work tho training and experience experi-ence of these men should be utilized to the Kicatest extent possible. Admiral Badger told the committee that the United Slates had ajrreed with the Ltritish govern merit to pay ?i0 for each American soldier .transported overseas over-seas in British vessels. Ho said Kngland frequently had asked for a larger sum, but no agreement as to an increase had been rea ehed. Admiral Badger was asked if Great Britain favored construction of a lartje navy bv the Tinted Stales, and whether the" statement of Sir Wric Geddes. that the Fnited States "should assume a larger pa rt in the protection of the seas," referred to peace times as well as during the war. Admiral Badger replied that bo. did not know what Kngland's desire de-sire now is. Representative Kelly asked if Fnjrland and the United States together had larcro enough navies to police the seas. Admiral Ad-miral Badcer said they had. "Then it isn't necessary for the United Stales to make great additions, is it?" he asked. "No. not if the United States wants to depend upon another nation for its protect pro-tect ion." Admiral Badger answered. The admiral said it was the Intention of the general hoard to maintain adequate ade-quate forces both on the Atlantic and Paclfie coasts of the country from now on. The Kncle type of patrol boats has proved satisfactory, he said, and can be utilized to Kicat advantaKe. Germany had fifty-six capital ships in her navy. inehidinp nineteen dread-nouKhts, dread-nouKhts, when the war broke out, and had seven other dreadnoughts under construction, con-struction, Admiral Badsrer said. He added add-ed that he believed work on the seven was discontinued and materia was used for su L marine construct ion. Records of the sinkings of German submarines sub-marines are more or less inaccurate, tho admiral said, because there is no definite information of destruction of the crafts by mines. He said British ships had picked up Germans from submarines that supposedly had been sunk, but later It was learned that the submarines had made port and were repaired. The German gun that shelled Paris was a "fifteen-inch one reduced to nine," Admiral Badger naid. Only the maintenance of rigid airships Is now planned by the general board, the admiral told the committee. Use of the rigid airships by the Germans included scout patrol work over the North sea. Admiral Badger said that the British reported re-ported increased effectiveness of the .Zeppelins, but not for raiding purposes, because the bulky craft are too vulnerable. vulnera-ble. The use of Zeppelins would not materially ma-terially reduce need of scout cruisers, he said. |