Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-05-02
OUR NAVY.

Advocates of a larger navy nave tried
lately to brighten the public with state
ments regarding the alleged dctenseless
condition of the United States. They
have spoken OF our exposed coasts and
the necessity OF hurrying through tho
naval program to the finish. Are we
so defenseless?
Tho fact is that we have now twenty
FIVE battleships and thirteen arnored
cruisers. and in short time this for
midatle force will be augmented and
NO shall have thirty-one battleships
and fifteen armored cruisers. Senator
Hale. the chairman of the Naval AZ
fairs Committee, does not share the
alarm OF the sensationalists. He says,
speaking of the complete list Of our
naval fighting strength:
TT shows navy 50 large that you
may divide IL in two and,a larger navy
Will bo left on the Pacific coast than
the entire fleet that is now making It's
way mp that coast, and another great
1oat very considerably larger, with all
OF the smaller ships connected with 1t,
more than thirty in all, making an i'm
that phrase as applied to the Atlantic
feet rather than the Pacific, although
they are both actually home squndrons.
1T will leave on the Atlantic coast
as our fleet facing toward Europe
much larger fleet than that which is
now in Pacific waters, and II will leave
Ia Pacific waters for the protection
Of the Pacific coast which | acknowl-
edge we ought TO protect, another fleet
III fleet
upon that coast.
I'VE would have fifteen big battle
ships on the Pacific. the same number
that are now in tho fleet; we would
have sixteen big battleships in the At
lantic, and we would have seven enor-
nous cruisers as large as battleships In
the Pacific. and eight more on the At
lantic, and in addition to all that we
would have all of tho monitors all of
the protected cruisers, and all of the
gunboats, aggregating tonnage of
over 100000.
II do not think there is any squadron
OF any nation aside from her home
squadron in her home ports that is as
large az the squadron we viii then
have or the fleet, whatever you may
call it, In tho Pacific. SO the senators
from that region, who are naturally
desirotis of protecting their own coasts
need have no apprehension that II the
program sent to us from tho House IL
carried out they will he left in tho
nuch,'
The United States can we'll afford to
spend money and energy on tho exploits
of peace and industry and work for
limitation of ornaments, instead of
entering the mad race for ship build
Ing.
Limitation of ornaments as peace
measure is not the dream of Missionaries
There are several preoedents, and none
more notable than the agreement be-
tween this country and Canada In the
year 1912 there were on the coast line
i6 forts on our side and an equal num-
Der of the Canadian side On the lakes
We had over hundred vessels for
fighting purposes. After the war both
sides got busy building Qualifications
and ships, in the interest of peace.
Then, as now, many declared peace was
impossible except under tho shadow of
guns and bayonets. But two great
statesmen thought otherwise. Our Sec
rotary OF State and the British Minister
to the United States came together in
the true Quaker spirit. They agreed
that the naval forces on the lakes
were to be limited to a certain number
of vessels, and that no other warships
we're to be built. This agreement has
been a blessing to both countries, and
the point Is this, If two countries can
maintain peace by limitation of arma-
ments, why cannot all other countries
do the same?