The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-29
to keep UP with the launchings at ne"
port News and Richmond.

{ mort News ana
SECRETARY. LONG.
THE Secretary of the Navy, John y.
Long, was the principal speaker. he
said:
II have been interested in the circular
signed by many eminent citizens, my
frIrnG. l.. Z. Hale, az the head. III when
they regret the estimate OF S1eo.0ooooo Tor
tho Increase of the navy. The size OIL the
navy, il there is to be n navy at all,
is a question like the tariff-of ADJUST
ment rather than of principle. or course,
it is rather taking thing TO say, as a
matter of theory. as this circular says,
that 500, 000, coo for the navy means tax
of So on every family in the United states.
And yet on the other hand, as matter
OF practical fact if that sum is spent
there is probably not a family in the
United States whose future income couio
be shown to be Sc less, and there are q
good many families whose income would
be Sc more and still more families whose
incomes would be many times Sc less IL
il were not spent.
ut is also rather a taking thinS 10
say that Slo0000.000 could be better spent
foi. education or charity. And yet on
the other hand, 500, 600 spent in the
employment of labor is the best use to
which * can he put.
QUESTION OF THE DAY.
.sThe great question Of the day, as 10
wealth. is It's distribution. While lew
would say that the community should
be taxed for the sole purpose OF dis
tributing the proceeds of taxation, We
II is some comfort TO know of ta2
which when it is laid on the communit.
all returns again to it. If 500 100000 SHAH
l,e aopropriated for the navy by the
present Congress, a small part VIII go
for the purchase of raw material ana
something for salaries, but the great bulk
Of it for labor in every part OIL liie
Union
Somehow it just happens that win
larger revenues than we have ever ha"
before in time OF peace, and therefore
Will, more direct and indirect taxation
there is more prosperity and more money
in the pocket of the citizen than ever
before. Students may speculate over the
economic causes, but this is the DENIM
ton total.
Undoubtedly Uncle Sam ought to re-
duce taxation wherever he can. On the
other hand, it is shrewd and wise in him
to run things so as to keep business 5000.
and if as a result this income is large
he confcrs much more benefit by spending
it than he would l5y hiding it. Whenever
the interests Of the country require, ne
should reduce his receipts. but as they
are now excessive the great question
seems to De TOW ne Siictil SCI LIZ
back among the people. Another year
he may not have SO much money to
spend. But if this year. having surplus,
he srentls one hundred million on the
navy. LET us remember that while 1t is
spent under that name It is really spent,
as / said before in the employment OF the
pcoples labor and in the purchase OF the
material they have to sell. and the people
get rather more out of it than the navy
does. for they get it all back again.
Nor is it true. as suggested in the cir
c,llar that a great navy necessarily IN
flames the fighting spirit and leads to
war.
IF my recollection serves me right,
while Great Britain has had troubles IN
E,ryDt and Africa and elsewhere, she has
had no conflict on sea for many years
and vet her navy has been twice as large
as that of any other The increase in
our navy did not induce the war with
Spain, which. as things were, seems to
have been inevitable. On the other hand.
it became more th.n like that if at the
beginning of 1898 we had even as large
n navy as we have now, certainly as
large . one as now proposed, there would
have been no war with Spain, and that
country would have come to terms. as
she was very near coming. without bat
tie At that time, however, 1t was the
general impression among foreign powers,
and probably in Spain. that her navy
would slow us out Of the water
CAL The foregoing deals with the ques-
tons of expenditure, which arc the only
questions raised III the circular. But
there is a question of principle. AID that
question. strangely enough, the circular
does not touch The progress, 1t seems
TO me, instead of raising the question Of
how big the navy should be, should have
raised the question of whether there shall
he any navy at all. This / do not pro-
pose to argue as until the world moves
much farther towards the millennium 1t
is hardly worth while to argue it.
In determining this question. what
shall be the size Of our navy? there are
a great many things TO be considered,
some of which ] have referred to.
For instance. our world relations have
expanded vastly in the last three years
in territorial extent, and vastly more IN
international extent 1t has not been an
extension upon the continent. but upon
| the ocean itself and the islands of.the
| sea in both henisphercs. Our commerce