LAND & WATER 
America's Sea Power 
By Arthur Pollen 
^ January lo, 1918 
WHEN I started for America just over six months 
ago, 1 lound that the general opinion here seemed 
to be that the people of the ITnitcd States were 
not. and did not seem likely to become, over 
cnthfjsiastic about the war, but that any lack of popular war 
fury would certainly be made up by the staggering efficiency 
with which tlie Government's war programmes and prepara- 
tions would be; carried through. Six months' study of the 
situation in America has convinced me that in both these 
respects opinion was 'largely wrong. Of the war spirit of the 
Americans there could be no possible doubt, from the first 
moment one found ontsclf in the country. And if the efficiency 
of the war preparatioais has been less than was hoped, it is 
largely ber.ause, so over\vhclming was the war enthusiasm, that 
a scale of national effort was attempted that it was beyond 
Jmman capacity to realise. The fact of the matter is that 
Ai.ierica's k>?enness to wipe out her long neutrahty by a swift 
and rapid stroke for \-ictory was altogether limitless, and her 
power of nat-Uinal action very severely limited. What was 
perhapt hardly rea^Used was this. In normal times the ratio 
of corpoiatc or governmental activity to industrial acti^'ity 
is extraordinarily small. It had, therefore, been nobody's 
business to find out how far the ordinary course of trade and 
industrv could bf broken into, and their machinery turned 
to national objects, without making a great deal of that 
machineiy break dow.n altogether This has been illustrated 
in the case of railways, mining and munitions. The case was 
still stronger when it came to such an industry as shipbuilding 
for, except for submaj-ines and warships, the capacity of the 
shipyards of America iiefore the war was of a very restricted 
kind. It was expanded and expanded rapidly under British 
and Allied orders for ships, in the course of 1915-16. When 
America came into the war, there were vessels to our order 
displacing over two million tons, actually, I believe, in course 
of construction. But it was just at this moment that the full 
gravity of the German submarine menace was realiped. The 
unpleasant truth was dawning on the world that if the thing 
went on as it had begun, no matter how great or well-equipped 
the armies might be that America would raise, they could be 
of little value in the war without shipping to take them 
to Europe or to keep men supplied there. In other words, 
it bicame apparent that the first necessity of the situation was 
i(< nuiltii)ly the sbipbuilding capacity of the country to the 
utmost. Americaai necessity and not American capacity 
dictated what was to be done. A programme for the launching 
and completion of four million tons, in addition to the two 
millions already under construction, was set out, and every 
eifort made to make its reahsation possible. Many, indeed, 
conttdently asserted that the whole six million tons would be 
afloat and available before the end of 1918. But no such result 
seems probable now. Already the very high expectations 
formed as to the production of wooden ships are understood 
to have been ill founded. Nor, in spite of Mr. Hurley's 
recent statement, are those seemingly in the best position for 
anticipating events, at all confident as to the balance of the 
programme. 
The truth probably is that those who first had shipbuilding 
in hand failed to grasp, not the elementary fact that the total 
production must ultimately turn upon the amount of labour, 
unskilled as well as skilled that was available, but the effects 
of the very exceptional demands that other necessary prepara- 
tions for war would make upon the total labour available. 
Ordnance, munitions, aeroplanes and air-plane engines, cloth- 
ing, equipment, the increased production of food, the greater 
demand lor copper and iron ore, the vast increase of plants for 
((inverting ore into metal, and other plants for turning the 
raw material into fit material for industry, the construction 
and upkeep of camps for housing and training the million and 
a half men, the increased need of coal and oil, the new and 
extraordinary demands made on railway transportation 
just at a time when the railways were most in need of new roll- 
ing stock and rails — needs that could not be met because rolling 
stock, engines and rails had to be got ready for shipment tu 
l"rance and Russia— all these vast and extraordinaiy efforts 
hctwem them produced a dislocation of labour and of the 
general industrial organisation which jiossibly might have 
l)een, but, in fact, seemingly' was not, fully anticipated. In 
the net result, not only the shipbuilding programme, but all 
othei- programmes will unquestionably meet with delays. 
J'.ut in singular contrast to this generaltruth stands the very 
remarkable work of the Navy Department at Washington. 
In the second week in December there was published, not only 
the annual report of Ihe Secretary himself, Mr. Daniels, biit 
those of the Chiefs of Bureau. They were one and all extra- 
ordinarily stimulating and highly" satisfactory documents. 
In the issue of Land axd Water of April 5th and April 
i2th last year, I published two articles, one written before the 
American declaration of war, but after the declaration had be- 
come certain, and the other immediately afterwards, in which 
I dealt with the mihtary and naval forces then at America's 
disposal, and discussed the probable use to which they would 
be put. Already, as we all know. Admiral Sims had been 
despatched to and arrived in England to arrange for the 
naval forces of his country to take an immediate share in 
the fight against the submarines, and before the third 
.April number of Land and Watek was issued, the first con- 
tingent of American destroyers was half way across the Atlantic. 
The swift promptness of this action, and the perfect readiness 
for action of every unit suited to the purpose are legitimately 
made the keynote of Mr. Daniels' opening paragraplis. It is 
legitimate because the same promptitude was shown in every 
other field of the Department's activity. No time was lost, for 
instance, in at once getting Congressional sanction for the ex- 
penditure necessary for the expansion the war would call for. 
So recently as the previous August the three years' programme 
under discussion for nearly eight months had gone without 
opposition through both Houses. This programme provided for 
laying down immediately four battleships, four battle-cruisers, 
four scout cmisers, nine fleet and fifty-eight coast defence 
submarines, fifty destroyers and torpedo boats and a few 
fuel ships, transports, tenders, etc. But a month before the 
declaration of war was made, a further vote of five hundred 
and sixteen million dollars was asked for and granted. And 
approximately, the same amount was voted in the beginning 
of June and again in the first week in October. With thesi; 
appropriations behind them, Mr. Daniels and his Chiefs of 
Bureau set to work. 
The Growth of the Navy 
The number of ships actually in commission 
has risen from about three hundred to about a thousand. 
The personnel of the Na\'y prop>er consisted a year ago of 
4,500 officers and ()H,ooo enlisted men. To-day the officers 
arc over 15,000 and the enlisted men exceed 254,000. The 
number of naval stations grew from 130 to 363 ; the Navy 
Yard employees have doubled. So that, omitting the Marine 
Corps, over 30,000 strong, the Naval Establishment on shore 
and afloat embraces now over 300,000 men. Roughly, we 
may say that everything has been multijilied by three within 
nine months — ever\'thing that is to say, except the scale of 
expenditure, which has been multiplied by more than seven. 
But then the expenditure no doubt takes into account both ■ 
paj'ments on account for new construction and payments for 
each unit as it is delivered finished, and payment for' large 
munition supplies. The fifty destroyers authorised in August ^ 
1916, were all contracted for very soon after the appropriations ' 
were finally passed. This pogramme has been very greatly 
added to since. Last October 225,000,000 dollars were 
voted for this class of ship only, and again every unit authorised 
was contracted for immediately. The reports are silent as to 
the dates on which the boats making up these two programmes 
are to be expected. But it was regarded as no secret when I 
was in Washington, that in this field at any rate, there would 
be no disappointment at all. Every builder was said to be 
ahead of his time, and confident of keeping ahead. I do not 
know what the contract price for destrojers now is, and 
consequently cannot say how many boats are included in 
the Congressional vote of 225,000^000 dollars. But some- 
thing over ;([45,ooo,ooo worth of destroyers ought to represent 
a very formidable force. We know that the destroyer 
building firms are much the most efficient of any concerns 
of their kind in America. We know that the greater cost of 
rapid construction has been taken into account in fixing 
prices, and that, as far as possible, every priority, both as to 
material and labour, has been accorded. It seems reasonable 
then, to assume that the most effective of all craft, offensive 
and defensive, in underwater war is likely to be suppHed in very 
useful numbers, and of a peculiarly meritorious type in the 
coming months. 
In the munitions specially necessary for anti-submarine 
war— and this includes ordnance for the arming of merchant- 
men, merchant auxiliaries and every other form of patrol 
boat— the Navy Department has been fortunate in placing 
its contracts and therefore in securing early deliveries. 
Generally speaking, so far as anti-submarine provisions go. 
the material within the Navy Departments activities has been 
admirably taken care of. More remarkable than this, which 
is after all a question of good busmcss management, always 
a conspicuous mark of this branch of the National Govcrnmeiit 
