Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-08-08
GOING WITHOUT NOT ECONOMY.

Congress is still at loggerheads over
the question whether it shall authorize
tho building of any battleships during
the fiscal year. The Senate IS standing
out for the construction OF two battle
ships. The House is opposed to the Sem
ate and apparently disclined even 70
listen 10 the compromise recommendation
for an addition of one vessel of the cap
ital class to the building proCremne for
the fiscal year OF 1928. The House is
willing to vote TO build auxiliary craft
but on the score of ECONOMY" opposes
adding anything to our first line OF naval
| defence. The economy Is not so apparent
| when we reflect that the sum carried
by the naval appropriation bill as sent
up to the Senate was slD.oM,UO an
| amount which n little more than a de-
| cade ago would have been thought incon-
| ceivable as n naval grant for any one
year. II we spend sl20,Nh,OO a year on
| the fleet without making any appreci-
able increase in Its power for resistance
or offence where does the economy lie'
II does not seem TO have occurred to the
economists of the House that II Is quite
possible to reduce the expenditures of tho
navy and yet adhere to the building pro-
cranmc adopted years ago by common
UNDERSTANDING, winch DToNiutu u IA Ills
nual Increase OF two h%attleships. Tina
way, however, to the OF
keeping UP our strength on the sea with
out unduly adding to the yearly cost OF
DOING so is not difficult to discover. In
fact, II was once suggested by mira
Dewey. who said that the same amount
of training that We now give our off,
GERS and men could he carried out with
- .,,nlI.r ,p,ha nf chtnC In rnnmiS-
sion. His plan VAS to pass the men train
ed through a few type ships, leaving tho
balance of the battlcship class not so en-
| ployod under the care of skeleton crews.
Another way which has been discussed
is to transfer crews from Il certain class
of tattleships after a few months train
ing to another class, the first mentioned
class going into the reserve. The saving
by this method would be perceptible. as
the party cost. all things considered, OF
a nrst-class hattleship in commission Is
not far from ono million dollars.
Suppose. instead of our maintaining the
greater part of our battleships with per.
manent compliments of officers and men,
we were to keep only one-third at sea
with the remainder in a state of prepara.
ton but with only care-taking crews.
Is there any doubt but what We could
save enough money in this way TO keef
up the building programme without any
greatly increased strain on the treasury
Other nations follow this method ana
manage to get along with an even small
er yearly cost than we bear. The serious
aspect of hating our naval developments
is tina IT viii be difficult to catch tho
step again. The cry will be raised that
we have battleships enough II after u
, years cessation in construction "A move
ment is made for its resumption. Per-
haps In one sense we have battleships
= enough, that is. In the statistical sense.
but in the practical sense of having ves-
sells Immediately capable of service under
modern conditions we are not adequately
q supplied. Mere replacement and repair
a demand that we should cut out of OUT
n statistical total "A number of vessels laiC
q down twenty years ago which by ne
possibility can he regarded as fit TO IL
8 employed in "A naval war in this first
~ltsnyssr period OF the twentieth century.