The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-05-11
THE LONE KICKER
AGAINST BIG NAVY
A Washington Paper Belittles Roose-
velt's Plea for
Battleships
CALLS 1T A NAVAL BUGABoo.
mo Real Danger Exists of Aggression
Upon The United
States.

since the great DEBATE on the Naval
bill and Pearl Harbor in Congress, the
receipts of newspaper references to
Hawaii from clipping bureaus nave
trebled. From the entire number re-
ceived here the following editorial
from the Washington, d. c., He
raid is the only one that takes issue
against the Presidents policy of naval
expansion:
A NAVAL BUGABOO PUT TO ROUT |
President Roosevelt's big navy mes
sage proved to be wasted ammunition,
possibly because it lacked explosive |
force. 1t contains some curious read |
ing Nothing Mr.. Roosevelt has lately |
written displays so poor command OF
his subject-a subject, too, with which !
he is thoroughly familiar We look in
vain through this bit of special plead
ing in behalf of naval expansion for
a single convincing reason why we
should enter upon the international
scramble for sea power. If the big
navy case depends on Mr.. Roosevelts
presentation of it, then is it indeed
hopeless. The irrelevancy of much
that the President says suggests that
from prudential motives he is conceal
ing the real reasons for asking large
naval increase, which are, as develop
ed by Mr.. Hobson, that our aggressive
policy in the Orient will inevitably
: lead us to armed collision with the do
minant power or powers there, in
! which conflict we shall have to fight
! for our very existence. On this theory,
however fantastic, the need for big
ger navy is ineligible. We can I'M
derstand what Mr. Hobson means.
We do not believe there is any wide
acceptance in this country, outside OF
naval circles, of the idea that our con-
tinental territory will be in danger OF
foreign aggression unless we build up a
naval power able to cope with that OF
any other nation. Nor do we believe
that any considerable number Of Anne
ricans are convinced that the only
way to maintain peace is to engage in
the absurd race for naval supremacy
that is going on between England and
. 10.
creasing their naval ornaments pure
ly for self-defense, and neither has
any design upon us. AS for Great Bril-
tain's Oriental ally, her navy is far
inferior to that of the United States,
and her modest shipbuilding program
threatens to swamp her national treas
ury. If there is any nation that is
likely to be compelled to fight for her
very existence within the next rev
years, that nation is Japan, not the
United States. Her situation in the
Orient was never more precarlous than
it is today, and we might as well dis
miss the Hobsonian notion of Japa-
nese invasion of Hawaii and our main
land as the fanciful diversion of a
naval strategist o'erheated in mid
night conferences with the mighty.
| No real danger exists of aggression
upon the United States, but there does
exist a real danger of our aggression
in directions wholly alien to our ma
tional spirit and traditions, notwith-
standing Mr.. Roosevelt's avowal that
he can conceive of no circumstance
under which we should enter on an
aggressive war. But we now have the
Philippines squatting on our back like
an Old Man of the Sea. and because
of the Philippines we are asked to
double the size of our navy. and be-
cause we have a big navy some ambi-
tious President may one day engage In
further exploits to carry on our great
mission in the world Mr.. Roosevelt
frankly admits he would have plunged
the whole of Europe into war rather
than permit the Armenian massacres.
Would he plunge the whole of the
Orient into war rather than see Man
churia divided up between Russia and
Japan?
The country may be congratulated
on the refusal of the House to be
stampeded When battleships are
needed Congress may be trusted to
provide them; but there is no more
need of four ships now than there was
year ago, when Mr.. Roosevelt
thought one a year would be enough
for by his own confession nothing has
happened in the meantime but the de-
termination of one or two friendly
powers to build larger war ships thar
ever. We have no call to engage II
such experimentation, and it is a sub
iect for national rejoicing that the
beating of naval tom-toms and the eX
hibition of the specter of wars pas
and to come have not availed to eXtor
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