The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-10-19
President Taft Not Inconsistent.

1t is observable that critics LOOKING
for something to criticise in President
I Tafts enunciation of politics think they
have found it bracketing together a pled
for a strong navy and renewal of his
belief in arbitration. In reality there is
no such contradiction here as these crit.
les would have us believe there is. Presi.
dent Taft expressed himself clearly in
his New York speech, when he uttered
the belief that with navy so powerful
as to preclude the probability of attack
we should find recourse to arbitration
CORRESPONDENCE facilitated. He in his
time has seen many treaties which bore
on their parchment all the solemnity
which signatures and sealing wax can
give torn Zip when it suited one of the
great signatories to tear them.
Not long before he was in the presi-
dency, he witnessed the impunity with
which Austria, backed up by Germany
put its bayonets through the treaty of
Berlin without single effectual protest
being made against Austrias sudden
self-conversion from trustee to an alb
solute owner of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Similarly, he witnessed the quiet repudi-
alton by Great Britain in favor Of Japan
of the pledge to maintain the indepen-
dence of Korea. an engagement by inn
plicaton at least, to which the United
States had also made itself party.
The great powers are apt to be practical
believers in the truth of the saying that
the world belongs to the energetic Pres
ident Taft therefore must be somewhat
in sympathy with those Belgans and
Swiss who, while retaining the utmost
respect outwardly for the neutrality
treaties, which theoretically protect them
from aggression, have kept Swiss and
Belgian powder dry and fortified their
frontiers 1t usually takes two of size
to arbitrate
The presidents scheme for a strong
navy is of moderate scope. His plea ia /
for replacement and repair, not for entry
into the race of construction. He is By
10 means alone in perceiving that a very
proportion of our naval
strength is statistical. We are keeping
at least ten battleships which are only /
a reserve afloat. No nation for years has !
thought of laying down a battleship of
less than 10000 displacement Yet i'm
our naval list there figure half a score
Of vessels that do not reach that dimen-
sion. Sentiment gives the Oregon, for
a great place in our armored
fleet, Notwithstanding that the keel of
this famous vessel was laid down more
than twenty years ago and that she is
less than half the displacement Of the
Arkansas and the latter's sister dread
laughts. No naval tactician would think
or moment OF placing the Oregon in {
he line of battle under the condition of ,
laval wars as they must be in the imme-
late future. The only class Of battle ,
hips that il pays to build to-day is the i
lreadnaught. any one OF which j. the Z
quail to two, il not three, Oregons. To :
make our navy a. effective As IL should Z
'e it is not necessary for us 20 seek 20 !
Fad Great Britain and Germany in the {
1pdity Of development. but IL j. essen a
ial that We should realize that among
he vessels which figure in the statistics
{ orr naval strength arc several. If not
lany. which by no possibility could fig !
re IN hattle.-Boston Transcript.