Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-15
Chairman TaWney Discusses
the Great Appropriations.
EXPENSES OF THE NATION
All Other Countries of the World
Surpassed.
PATRIOTISM Is OUR STRENGTH
Naval Policy Criticised as Bungling.
Employment Of Golfers for the
Battleship Fleet.

During the consideration of the naval
appropriation bill i'm the House of Repre-
sentatives today Chairman Tawney OF
the committee on appropriations again
pointed out the danger in which the
Treasury is being placed by the immense
| increase in appropriations authorized In
the several supply measures. Mr.. Taw-
neys remarks were made particularly ap-
plicable to the. demand for four battle
ships instead of two. He compared the
appropriations in various countries In
preparation for war and on account OF
wars. and said the startling fact was de-
| veloped that the United States was spend
ing more than any other nation in the
world.
I'VE are this year." he said. depending
$751; 100, 23S more than England; $136 O67.
S3S more than Germany. and $l52 $50. gs't
more than France Continuing the COM
parison. Mr.. Tawney declared further
that on account of preparation for war
the United States. with an army of $4,000
men and a navy of 1900 men, is expend-
ing this year only $50, 473. 7O1. 10 less than
England with an army of 204 800 men and a
navy of $4,000 men; that the United
States is expanding for this purpose only
$50, SS4. $780, S less than Germany with her
men. That the United States is expanding
for the purpose in excess of the amount
expended by France with her army of
$50. coo men and her navy of 5000 men,
81, $50, 49, 46.
Strength Of Our Country.
Maintaining that navies are built for
national defense. Mr.. Tawney said that
they were not intended and could not be
justified upon the ground that they are
necessary to satisfy an ambition. either
individual or national to compete with
other nations in time of peace in size and
number of fighting machines. He argued
that in the United States the prestige and
power of the nation did not depend upon
the size Of the army and navy. The
country. he said, has eighty millions Of
the strength of our nation exists. and
not In our standing army or our perma-
nent naval establishment"
Continuing. Mr.. Tawney declared that
the strength of our policies and the abil-
ity Of our government to enforce them
will always be measured by ourselves
and by foreign nations not by the size
OF our army or navy. but by the re-
sources, the patriotism and the loyalty
of the people. who at all times are known
to be ready and willing to sacrifice their
property and even their lives in the de-
tense of their government and it's benef-
icent institutions" The people. there
fore. he argued. should not be encour-
aged Ito surrender that self-reliance, that
consciousness of superior individual
strength as a nation by trying to teach
them to rely upon a standing army and
navy In time Of peace large enough to
be capable of successfully competing with
the armies and the navies OF the world
or any one of them in time Of war;
Discussing the question of war. Mr..
Tawney said that If there was any rea-
son to apprehend war with any foreign
power within the next decade, the in
formation upon which that apprehen-
sion was based had been carefully with
the government. He asserted that the
geographic isolation of the United
States was an asset far more valuable
as means of national defense than all
the navies we could build if we did not
possess this advantage"
Bungling Charged.
Mr.. Tawney charged that the United
States in the past had pursued a bun
Cling navaI policy. and he pointed out
that the journey Of the Atlantic fleet to
the Pacific was made possible only
through the aid of twenty-eight vessels
flying a foreign flag. "A more disgust
ing spectacle was never witnessed" he
said. and he condemned the naval pol
Icy which mad overlooked auxiliary YES
sells to supply a feet with the means alb
solutely essential to its existence. 1T
may be- he said in conclusion, that
this mistake Is due to the fact that
collier. which is as essential to the es-
fciency of the navy as battleship.
is not so attractive. docs not involve
the expenditure of so much money.
and does not afford the opportu-
nifty for the same pyrotechnic display
upon the ocean or at the summer resorts
along the coast and for that reason we
have made the mistake of building a navy
that today. in order to make its voyage
from one ocean to another. is obliged to
rely upon the vessels belonging to other
nations"