Evening journal., 1905-02-25
The Aouse bad the Navy.

From the New York Tribune.
In voting to sustain the Administra-
tion's naval policy the House Of Rep
lresentatives has shown true states
manshlp and breadth OF Judgment.
More than that. it has exhibited a high
! ly conmendable spirit of sclf-denlal. II
/ has been evident for some time that
the House would have 70 choose be
tween abandoning its Public Buildings
Ibill-a measure especially dear to the
heart OF the average legislator-enld
sacrificing In part our carefully ma
tured program Of naval expansion.
/ Pressure for the passage of a Public
Buildings bill at this session has been
Unusually persistent, for In recent years
no general distribution of prize pack
ages Of this sort has been celebrated.
/ Many members interested I'm river and
lharbor improvements have also taken
alarm, for an acceptance Of the Naval
Committees recommendations has
seemed TO them to make the passage OF
a River and Harbor bill extremely
doubtful. Yet, In spite of the keen de-
sire OF so many Representatives TO
save something out of the wreck Of so
called pork -barre" Legislation for their
deserving constituencies. the House ac-
quiesced broad mindedly in the commit
tees demand for two new battleships.
It subordinated a personal interest in
local Improvement schemes to what 1t
knew 10 be n broader ana more patrl-
otto view of public duty.
IT would have been misfortune. in
deed 81 the popular branch had been
stampcded by "a false cry of econ
omy' into neglecting and sighting the
navy. our present program OF naval
development Is based on recognized ma
tional needs. It is the fruit of many
years of patriotic effort It has had the
earnest approval of both the great po-
litical pqrties. 1t has given us a naval
establishment of which we are Justly
prOud-one in measure adequate to
our rank and dignity as a nation. But
it would be a fatal mistake to think
that we can rest on what we have ac-
complished. and can begin to trihe with
plans worked out i'm advance with so
lmuch tihOroughness. TO suspend work
for "a year or two. TO slliinp "a little here
and drop out one or more connecting
links there would prevent an orderly
and harmonious growth and disarrange
NhI Wllult Htittlflt OF ilANd DrNglHSi.
In the face OF a S2O.00O 600 deficit this
year and an even larger prospective
deficit next year wholesale naval au-
thorIzations are, Of comse. not to be
thought Of. But the Houses decision
to add two new battleships tl the fleet
cannot be criticised on the ground of
eXt1uvagance. Our present naval ex-
penditure-about $io0.0OOOOO "a year-
covers work on ships authorized by
other Congresses at a rate much great
of than two year Last year alone
eleven battleships and arm1red oruls-
ers were launched The nucleus of the
new navy we had TO create is thus al
ready ahoat, and the yearly additions
needed from now ON will involve no
such vast expenditure as that of 1902,
1908, 1904 or 1905. The House in voting
two new battleships made only suitable
and sensible provision for the future.
1t stood up squarely and manfully for
a policy which the nation supports
unitedly-the policy OF creating and
maintaining a navy adequate in every
way to national needs.