Navy Report

Secretary of the Navy Wilbur issued his annual report on the Navy. Few new facts were disclosed. The following sentences represent the gist of his remarks:

"The state of the material condition of the fleet is now not satisfactory. Although the available funds for the present fiscal year remain about the same as for last year, retrogression is apparent because the ships are older and the maintenance costs are increasing accordingly. . . .

"The six older battleships must be modernized if the reliance on them as ships of the first line of battle is to continue and our ratio of naval strength is to be maintained."