The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1910-03-17
MUCH OPPOSITION
TO BIG WARSHIP
Plans OF Secretary Meyer Are
\ Not Generally Regarded
with Favor.
TAWNEY IS CHIEF DIRECTOR
e'a'ms Made That II Means Immense
expenditure of Money and Is
Merely an Experiment-Fieht
over Amendment to Inter.
state Commerce Act.

$1,000 SO'lIIlSICc ACt.
misunderstanding of the NAVY
Meyers plan for a 32,OOO.ton Dread.
nought to be authorized for the Amer.
lean war fleet at the next session or
congress is meeting with strong Oh.
position. The friends of the plan are
Just as energetic as are its enemies
and it is likely that there will be a
night worthy of the traditions of the
american navy when the bill for the
big ship gets before congress next De.
cember.
Representative Tawney. who Is
chairman of the house committee on
appropriations, objects to the Dread.
nought, first, on the ground of its
cost, and second, on the ground that
such great vessel will be largely
experimental and it might not be
found really serviceable after 1t is
quilt, In the contentious that the
snip may not prove all that might
be expected, many line officers of the
navy have part.
1t is maintained by many OF the old
tlmers OF the service, that the expe-
rlence OF the years which have passed
since the first modern battleship was
quilt goes to show that there Is a
limit of efficiency which is marked
by limit of size. There are officers,
also, who are opposed to the increase
in the caliber of the great guns which
are used on warships. Some of them
say that the 12.inch gun is Just as
serviceable as the 14-inch or the 16-
inch gun, and that any increase of
caliber from the 12-inch model is a
waste of money and tends in no way
to improve the fighting qualities of
the ship that carries the big weapons.
RooseveIt's Naval Program.
1t was Theodore Roosevelts idea
that at least two battleships should
be added to the navy each year. The
former president wanted the United
States to keep pace with foreign ma
tons in the matter of battleshir
building and to retain its relative rank
in naval strength. In order to insure
that two battleships at least would
be authorized in one year, Mr.. Roose
welt asked for four of the ships know
ing that in all human probability con
gress would compromise the matter
and give him the two ships that he
really wanted
1t was said at the time that If Mr.
Roosevelt had asked for two ships, he
would have been given only one. Fol
some reason or other congress die
not give the former president the sup
port that apparently the country was
giving him in his various fields Of
administrative endeavor. When the
Panama canal is opened, the voyage
from the Atlantic coast of the United
States to the Pacific coast will be {
comparatively short one, and there
fore it will not be difficult in case:
of emergency to send huge fleet tC
the western waters. AS things are
now, of course, the voyage has to be
made around Cape Horn, following
the track which the battleship flee
took two years ago in making the frs
part of its journey around the world
Some naval officers say that 1
might be a good plan to build $4,000
ton Dreadnought and put into its tur
rets guns of the largest caliber foI
the purpose of testing the sailing
qualities and the fighting efficiency o
such a boat. If Dreadnought of thu
size planned by the secretary of thu
navy should be built along the mos
careful lines and should prove to b'
inefic ient, the lesson taught might b'
; worth the IA or Is million dollars tina
II would cost to construct it, for If |
we're shown that such a vessel were
impracticable, there would be no mor'
. experimenting, and all the energies
; of the department would be eXertet
TO perfect vessels of the size that /
, was known could be built and oper
ated safely and with high offensive
efficiency.
Dispute over Elkns Bill.
The senate has taken hold in ear
nest of the bill introduced by Sena
for Elkins and which provides 10
amendments to the interstate CON
merce act. One feature of the bill,
Is we'll known, is that providing for al
) interstate commerce court whose dut
il shall be to hear cases that are cal
/, ried on appeal from the decision o
: the interstate commerce commission
One of the main reasons advance
for the creation of the interstate con
merce court was that it would eXpt
dite final decisions in cases in whic
the great carrier companies OF IN
country we're interested. or cours
onpeals will lie from the interstat
commerce court to the supreme cour
. of the United States, but it Is urge
nv friends of the new court plan una
, narties to litigation will be satlshe
in many instances with the decision q
the lower court and that anyway Il
asmuch as il has only one class
cases to hear, the new courts "or
will be done quickly and that the rou'
, TO Justice will be much shorter una
= If has been in the past There
strong opposition to the intersta'
commerce court amendment anon
: some of the Republicans OF the seha'
and among a considerable number ais