The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-03-17
GERMANY'S NAVAL INCREASE
CITED AS CAUSE FOR ENG
LAND TO WAKE UP.
MORE SHIPS ARE WANTED
McKenna and Premier Asquith Seek
to Justify Fifteen Million Increase
in Navy Estimates on Ground That
Britain Must Maintain Her Suprem-
aoy on Sea to Assure Her Safety.

London, March 16-"The safety of the
country stands above all other sacri-
fees, and no matter what the cost,
the safety. of the country must be as
sured."
This was the ground upon which
Reginald McKenna, first lord Of the
admiralty, justified the increase of
nearly $15,00O,000 in the navy esti-
mates when they We're introduced by
him in the house of commons today.
mo one could suppose" continued
Mr.. McKenna, that the present gov
ernment assumed the responsibility of
these estimates with a light heart,
but there are cases when even the
most determined economist would
have to make sacrifices"
1t was automatic, the speaker con-
tinued, that Great Britain should
maintain a navy sufficiently strong to
insure Britains shores from invasion,
the empire from hostile attacks, and
trade from destruction during war.
The limits of the navy must be fixed
by the progress Of foreign powers.
Several powers were rapidly develop
ing their naval strength at present,
but not one at pace to be compared
with Germany.
Mr.. McKenna explained that he Sc
lected Germany as a standard by
which to measure British requirements
only for arithmetical purposes and he
did not presume to any expression of
feeling or opinion except one of re-
spectful admiration for Germany's ad-
ministrative and professional efficacy
The present difficulty of the govern
ment lay in the fact that it did not
know the rate at which German con-
struction was going on.
Too Risky.
If Germany accelerated her con-
struction work she would have II Of
those ships by April of 1872 Great
Britain could not afford to take risks
and if she was to maintain her supe-
riority the admiralty must be in a po-
sition to obtain the delivery of four
additional Dreadnaughts by March,
1912, thus giving Great Britain 20
such vessels against Germany's pos
sible IT, Mr.. McKenna said he con-
sidered that the maintenance of supe-
riority depended upon superiority in
to the extraordinary growth" in the
construction of ships of the largest
size in Germany. Two years ago there
were no ships capable Of competing
with the British Dreadnaughts, while
today Germany has several such ves-
sells. besides three in course of con-
struction. In view of these facts, if
the house approved the estimates, or
ders would be given out Immediately
so that four additional Dreadnaughts
could II necessary, be completed by
March, 1912.
Assails Program.
A. j. Balfour followed with a speech
bitterly assailing the program. He de-
clared the condition of the navy to
be national danger and said that the
governments program was insuff-
cient.
Premier Asquith admitted the grave
Importance Of this debate and depre-
Gated the idea that the government
might sacrifice the national safety to
a question Of expediency.
It must not be supposed, he contin-
ued, that the calculation as between
Germany and Great Britain implied
The government has more than once
suggested a mutual reduction in naval
expenditures, but it always has been
assured in the most formal manner
that the German naval expenditures
were governed solely with reference to
Germanys needs and did not depend
upon Great Britain's program. The
government had been given the dis
tinct declaration, the permier went on,
that it was Germany's intention fur
ther to accelerate shipbuilding and the
government could not present to the
house a program based on the as
sumption that this declaration was
incorrect.
It must, however, be admitted that
Great Britain no longer enjoys the
superiority in ship construction she
thought she held, and this vast, hor-
rible. devastating and sterilizing ex-
penditure was supreme necessity of
national security which the premier
said he hoped parliament would ac-
cept.