The Needs Of The Navy.

New York Times 100 years ago today, December 9, 1912:
    Three battleships of the dreadnought class, two battle-cruisers, sixteen torpedo-boat destroyers, six submarines, and a number of smaller vessels are needed in the coming year to keep our navy in its relative position among the navies of the world, according to the annual report of Secretary Meyer. The Secretary's recommendations are approved by President Taft in his message. Provisions for four battleships were asked for by the General Naval Board. The Secretary limits his estimates to three. Only one was provided for this year, and four of the thirty-three now in our fleet will be 20 years old in 1914. It is a policy of foolish economy to restrict the upbuilding of the navy. "The time is remote," says the Secretary, "when a comparatively un-armed and helpless nation may be reasonably safe from attack by ambitious, well-armed Powers, especially in a commercial age such as the present."
    The battle-cruisers asked for are a new type in the American Navy, and they are needed, but the three new battleships are needed, too. The Secretary's report is moderate in tone, and convincing. The United States cannot afford to weaken its defenses on the sea, and the idea that the facility with which our warships can pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific, after the opening of the Panama Canal, will double the efficiency of the fleet is not founded.