Evening star., 1914-11-14
VIEWS AS TO NAVY
|LLFAR APART
European War Has Failed to
Unity Conflicting Opinion
in Congress.
VALUE OF BATTLESHIPS
A SUBJECT OF DISPUTE
Contention Made That Torpedoes
and Submarines Have Rendered
Them Impracticable.

A compilation of views on the big
navy subject from members of the
Senate and House naval affairs commit
tees shows there is "A wide divergence
OF opinion as to the necessity for
larger ships and more of them. Instead
OF conveyance of opinion. growing
from the lessons to he learned from
the present naval operations all over
the globe. the big navy" men are more
than ever sure they are right and the
small navy" men declare that the
presence of the torpedo and the sub
marine has rendered big ships useless
Representative Witherspoon of Missis-
eippi going so far as to say that i'll the
present war not one battleship has vet
6red a gun.
Lntess present signs fail. the coming
AaVdi Dill VIII be the center of even a
greater night in Congress than occurred
on the Two previous bills. These fights
between the small navy and the large
navy men We're exceedingly sharp and
brought out a bitterness of feeling
tnat was not easily smoothed away.
speculation as to Program.
1t is presumed that the general navy
board will recommend four battlesbins
again. and that the Secretary of the
Navy will recommend to Congress that
tne Dill provide for the building of at
least two ships
considerable speculation is going
ABOUT now as to the number of sub.
marines and torpedo craft that will he
Iuthorized by the coming bill, and
tHere IS a distinct section of Congress-
Which Is very much in favor Of q
strong submarine and torpedo addition
to the fleet
An efficient navy is what we need.
a In
Senator Tillman, Chairman of the Sen
ATE naval affairs committee IT see
nothing in the European war that
ought to make the American people go
Wlid on battleship building. BY. the
time the English and German nayies
are through sinking each others ships
we VIII have the largest navy in the
world. think
The people will no longer counte-
nance nfggardly appropriations for the
navy in the face of other congressionaI
extravagances.' says Representative
Fred A. Britten of Chicago member of
the House naval affairs committee. and
Dig navy advocate
senator Thornton of Louisiana an
nounces that he is still large navy
advocate. Representative Gerry of
Rhode Island takes the lessons of the
present war as indicating the impor-
sance OF sea power. and points to the
long coast stretches of the United
States which should be amply defend
ed by a big fleet. Representative
Browning of New Jersey is of the same
view.
Representative Bathrick of Ohio is a
friend OF the submarine fleet and be-
Ieves IN bill AUTHORIZING large ad-
dition of these craft to the navy
Senator Lodge of Massa chusetts
favors a big navy and promises to
work for one. He also favors the in
4uiry into the exact strength of the
country's offense and defense, as pro-
RenreSant1fiCp rln nf
his state.
The small navy voice is heard strong
and virile in Representative Wither-
spoon. who has borne large share of
the small navy fight in the House. He
Is quoted as saying:
"The present European war demon
strateS that we need no increase of
cur navy.
Thinks Battleships Useless.
"The war also demonstrates that the
opinions of Dewey, Goethals. Scott and
other high authorities that fortifica
tions. submarines and torpedoes have
rendered battleships and dreadnoughts
useless are correct. In world war of
more than three months not a battle
ship has fired a gun. The German bat
tleships and part of the Russian fleet
are close together in the Baltic sea,
and neither has dared to attack the
other. If it be said that the Russian
fleet does not attack the German be-
cause 1t is not one-fourth as great in
numbers. then why does not the Ger
man fleet attack and destroy the Rus
sian? The only answer is that the Ger
mans know that before they could get
to the Russian ships their battleships
and dreadnoughts would be destroyed
by mines, submarines and torpedoes."
Senator Page of Vermont believes
there Is possibility of a world dis
armament or peace plan following
the world war. but thinks it best to go
ahead building battleships until that