Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-30
BATTLE FOR SHIPS
SuIzer Pledges Democrats to
Two Dreadnoughts.
TWENTY-ONE GIVE ASSENT
Anti .Battleship Men Are Now Seek
ing Compromise.
BITTER FEELING IS RAMPANT
"War Scare" Hobson Expected Here
to Aid in Fight for Big Navy
Next Thursday.
TWEMTY-ONE GIVE ASSENT
BITTER FEELING IS RAMPANT

stand, the no-battleship democracy of the
House has capitulated entirely. and. while
agreeing as gracefully as possible on a
one-battleship program for this year.
faces the prospect of being beaten again
and accepting the full program of two
dreadnoughts. as proposed by the Senate
petition circulated by Representative
Sulzer of New York to vote for two big
ships il they get a chance. and to fight
the good fight for a big and adequate
American navy at every opportunity.
Twenty-one democrats. with the heav-
ing insurgency Of some Of, their republi-
can friends, have promised to turn the
steam roller the other way and crush all
opposition to their plans. 1t was the
steam roller which forced Mr.. Sulzer out
of the way few nights ago. when they
tabled his resolution. which would have
resulted in a two-battleship program sew
eral days earlier than now.
Would Hold Balance of Power.
They talk about reading us big navy
democrats out of the party said one
of them today. but how ridiculous 1t
would be. Suppose they did. Suppose
they fired twenty-five of us. possibly
thirty. We would go straight to the in
surgent republicans and control the bal
ance Of power in the House. Read us
out. Bosh.'
The no battleship men have admit
ted defeat The thing remaining is to
pave the way for the House to accept
at least one ship, and to do it in the
most graceful manner possible. Among
the no battleship ranks are many men
cd
one ship at a time. but they were inn
PEELED by various reasons to stick to
the mo ship policy. One Of these was
that they would use the difference of
lever to force something from the
Senate in other matters. They would
have said: I'VE will agree to a COM
promise on battleships il you will
leave in our abolition of the Commerce
Court"-or something Of the sort.
is that the battleship fight was start
ed too early-that Is, the naval COM
mittee let the matter come to an issue
too quickly. AS 1T is now. 1.-The folks
back home with their deluge of tele-
grams have made the representatives
in Congress lay the keel Of at least
one ship on purely patriotic princi-
pies.
"War Scare" Hobson Will Aid.
One voice in favor of battieships is
missing from the long. loud cry raised by
Sulzer. Curley and others. 1t Is that OF
Representative Hobson. He is out of
town. When he returns the two-battle-
ship" men will have as active a little
worker as they could wish. War Scare
Hobson,' he is called: and he will work
early and late for all the ships he can
possibly get. When he returns there will
be one more name to the two-battleship
petition. and by that time. Mr.. Sulzer be-
lieves. there will be at least thirty. And
if thirty democrats agree to vote for two
ships. providing the republicans vote SOL
idly for two ships, there is reason to be-
lieve the keels of two ships for this year
will be laid in the ways.
The program of legislation is to call up
the conference report between the two
houses Thursday. Representative Padgett.
chairman of the naval affairs commit
tee. will then ask for disagreement and
have the matter go back to conference.
come out with compromise on one bat
tleship. Meantime caucus probably
will be called. to let the no battleship
men into line without violating any rules,
actual or moral. Then the fight for two
battleships will begin, and the thirty in
surgents. if there be SO many by that
time. will endeavor to get in an amend
ment calling for the regular increase in
Cncie SANS floating defenses.
To Catch Labor Vote.
An argument being used today to catch
the labor vote is that ons-half Of the
money spent for battleships is paid to
labor No matter where the ships are
built, half of the millions appropriated for
them is paid to workingmen. The ships
proposed for this bill would put twelve
million dollars or SO in the pockets of
American workmen.
The difference of opinion among the
democrats has been Of a really serious
kind. The two-battleship democrats
claim they were given scant courtesy In
the caucus on the subject and there has
been sore place in the democracy ever
since.
Representative Burleson, confessedly
an anti-battleship man. welded the
gavel. and. IL is charged. made it i'm
possible for Majority Leader Underwood
to get the floor with a plan for a one
battleship compromise. and that when
Mr.. Sulzer wanted to sound the war CRY
for a ship or two Mr.. Burleson happened
to glance at any one except the New
York representative. Mr.. Sulzer grin
ned today when the antls made overtures
to him. He simply beat the two battle
ship tom-tom and kept on collecting sig
natures.