Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-18
WILL EYE GERMANY
EngIands Naval Plans to
Hinge on Kaiser's. 4
APPROPRIATIONS ARE CUT
Churchill Sends Estimates to House
of Commons.
CALL FOR SUM OF 1920, 427. 900
Conditions of Ship Building COM
petition of Nations Is
Set Forth. a.

LONDON, March 1S.-Winston Spencer
Churchill. first lord OF the admiralty. To-
day introduced the naval estimates for
the coming year in the house of commons
The appropriations called for amount 10
500. AT 900. a decrease of Sl535,Ovo from
the amount spent last year.
Mr.. Churchill accompanied the intro
duction with promise OF an augmenta-
struction to correspond with Germany :
naval program. He said he regretted the
necessity Of referring specifically TO Ger.
many. but continued:
THE Germans are people of robust
minds whose strong masculine good sense
and high courage do not recoil from and
are not offended by plain, blunt state
ments OF fact if they are expressed with
courtesy and sincerity"
Refers to United States.
Mr.. Churchill then went on to tell OF
the conditions under which naval com
petition would be carried on during the
next few years, prefacing his remarks
with the statement that the ..two-to-one"
standard as not necessary at present, al
though it would possibly become so.
The two-power standard has been
said by some of it's supporters" con-
tinued Mr.. Churchill, Ito include the
United States, and by this means it has
lost both good sense and reality"
The first lord laid down a 60 per cent
superiority in battleships and battle
cruisers of the dreadnought type as
compared with the German navy as a
convenient basis for the next four or
five years.
He pointed out that Great Britain at
present possessed an enormous supe-
rfofity in pre-dreadnought vessels but Is
these declined in fighting value the
British ratio of new construction would
have to rise above the 60 per cent
standard.
Plan for England.
Every addition Germany makes in the
way of new ships would accelerate the de-
cline Of value in pre-dreadnought vessels
and necessitate the augmentation of new
British construction so as to meet the ex-
listing German naval law.
Mr.. Churchill said that 1T would be nee
essary for Great Britain to construct -four
and three dreadnoughts every year alter.
nately for the next six years.
IF we are now, as 1t seems to be con.
fronted with the addition of two new Ger
man ships in these six years we propose
" HIScI Tic upOn Inc nlS ner
ito of superiority by laying down four ad
ditional ships in the same period"
Mr.. Churchill added that any retarda
ton or reduction Of German construction
would be promptly followed by q proper
tionate measure OF reduction in Greai
Britain.
To Build Lighter Vessels.
Mr.. Churchill continued:
This is our position-that the Germans
will not be gamers in naval power by any
increases they may make, and will not be
losers from the basis have laid down by
any diminutions. Here is a perfectly
plain plan and arrangement by which,
without diplomatic negotiation, without
bargaining. without the slightest restric-
ton of the sovereign freedom of either
power, this keen and costly naval rivalry
can at any time be abated.'
Referring to the building program
which includes four large armored ships,
eight light armored cruisers, twenty de-
stroyers and several submarines, Mr.
Churchill said that So, 10000 was to he
expended on the construction of subma-
rines this year, and as regards the light
armored cruisers, the admiralty had de-
cided to return to q smaller type of ves-
sci as being more useful than the re-
Gently built vessels of the Chatham class
of 800 tons.