The Washington times., 1913-10-27
DANIELS ADVOCATE
OF WARSH|P TRUCE
Favors Worldwide Agreement
to CurtaiI Production of
Great BattIeships.

ATLANTA. ost N.-Secretary os 1Ar
Navy Daniels has declared himself s
favor Of a worldwide agreement of al
nrst-class nations to close or curtail
ehe construction of battleships for a
stipulated period. The Secretary's sug-
sestion followed his Endorsement. Of a
similar proposition made to Germany
by Great Britain's first lord of the ad-
miralty, Winston Churchill.
'I believe such an agreement must be
made sooner or later for economic rea-
sons" the Secretary declared. THE
hysteria of naval preparations is prov
ing too great a burden for the people.
We ourselves are spending about sl4o,-
100000 annually on our navy, and an
equal amount on our army. and that is
but a bagatelle compared to what the
powers of Europe and Japan are spend
ing, with new vessels superseding and
making obsolete all that have been built
before.
THE world today is facing the anom-
ally of making its navy less adequate by
increasing it For when new vessels are
built with their more powerful arma-
ment, they render useless the smaller
warships, save for coast defense"
The Secretary said that such an agree
ment Joined in by Germany, England,
France. Russia, Japan and the United
States would result in the greatest
benefit to humanity in general from an
economic standpoint.
Unless some agreement is soon
reached" he said. every citizen will
fguratively be carrying a soldier on his
back"
To Test Defenses.
An official test Of effectiveness Of the
Panama canal Notifications will be
made next February by the Atlantic
feet in the greatest naval war
game in the history of the country.
This announcement has been officially
made by Lieutenant Commander N. L.
Jones, naval aide to the President, and
Secretary of the Navy Josephus
Daniels, who lis aboard the President s
special.
The maneuvers, which will last a
week, may be witnessed by the Presi-
dent and the Secretary of the Navy.
Mr. Wilson is being urged to make the
journey, and 1t is understood that he is
seriously considering accepting the in
vitation. The test will follow the ma
neuvers of Culebra Island, which is be-
ing considered for an advance naval
base. The entire feet will steam from
there to Cristobal, the Atlantic terminal
OF the canal from which point the
maneuvers will be directed.
AZ "otSh &4SAn 4oWClS
Naval experts will determine defi-
nitely how near vessels can get to the
canal by day or night without discov-
cry. Observations will be made from the
fire control towers, 12s feet above deck,
Notifications will be made. From the
fire control towers 1t is estimated that
the range Of vision is increased sixteen
to eighteen miles
Attempts to Determine whether an in
yading fleet could get near enough to
the canal to fire shells ashore will
also be made. Tests to determine the
value of the canal breakwater for a
fleet anchorage win also form part of
At Cuiebra Island, whose value as an
advance base will be determined, ma
rtnes Win be landed first to take theo-
pettcal possession. They win plant mines
and tcrpedoes and viii set up emergency
Enns toshold i until the arrival Of the
ip1ss Program Discussed
sne Seefetasyshas conferred inform
ally with the President on the battle
ship program for the coming yesr. He
spent the greater portion of the day
with Lieutenant Commander Jones' HIS
afG gpfrg1Sy eStimatea 81 So $3.50.
Mr. Depiela y is unde1tand has 90
snFss e,sus1lp proes4 latter. it Is
fo.e tns freaoell With favor. but is
~ Atdary because he does not
kf1Skhxf revenue the new tariff will
bring. While Mr.. Daniels favors three
or at the least two new war vessels, he
probably will not ask for an appropria-
ton for colliers or auxiliaries, one Of
the big items Of former naval appropria-
tions. In his estimate he probably will
recommend that no colliers or auxiliar-
les be built because the navy will have
at its disposal the sixty new colliers
being built by the Canal Commission
for use on the Panama Canal. and these
are 5000 to 10000 tons each and would