as one of the most effective weapons against the submarine.

Naval authorities join in defending the big battleship which has come
into action but little in the course of the war thus far. There is to be
considered, however, the moral effect of Great Britain's big fleet,
which has maintained control of the seas for four years. Similarly our
American fleet is regarded as the first and decisive line of defense on
our shores.

Battleships, it is true, do not figure frequently in the official
communiques, but none the less they are playing their part. Battleships
are absolutely a necessary and vital element to every nation at war.
They constitute the last great line of defense, and in this war they
have succeeded in keeping the seas practically free of enemy menace save
under the water.

In this final chapter may be included various details, facts, and
figures which are necessary as giving further point to the enormous
scope of the war activities of the Navy Department. In 1916, then, the
officers and enlisted men of the regular navy and the Marine Corps
totalled 82,738. In March, 1918, the strength of the naval forces,
including regular navy, marines, naval reserve force, national naval
volunteers, and coast guard, was 349,997, and at this writing is more
than 400,000. The total expenditures of the navy from the date of its
establishment in 1794 to 1916, inclusive, were $3,367,160,591.77, only
about $34,000,000 in excess of the appropriations real and pending since
August 26, 1916. For the specific purposes of new construction
appropriations totalling $295,000,000 have been made.

On April 1, 1917, there were building 15 battleships, 6 battle cruisers,