The Arvada enterprise., 1914-03-12
CONGRESS SEEMS LIKELY TO
AUTHORIZE BUILDING OF
TWO BATTLESHIPS.
FIGURES ARE INTERESTING
What This Country and Others Are
Spending for Fighting Vessels-
People Always Approve Of
the Expenditure.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

would vote money for the building OF
two additional dreadnaughts for the
American navy. The fact that the
house committee on military affairs re-
Gently cut down some OF the army es-
Inmates apparently has made many
people think the battleship building
program will be foregone. II the coun-
try wishes to keep the navy at its
present strength the ships must be
built and 1t seems certain today, even
in the face OF recent events, that con
gress will approve OF the building
plan.
The navy is the sister service OF the
army. Naturally what is done for one
sister It is expected will be done for
the other. Unless two battleships a
year are added to the navy our sea de-
fenses will be weakened. Navy offi-
GERS want the present strength to be
maintained and would like 1t immense.
ly II the lawmakers could be led to
see the virtue OF an increase. Two
ships this year seem to be assured.
Navles Are Kept Up.
II may be that the worlds thought
II progressing to point which will
put full stop to the whole business OF
war but until some more definite
promise Is forthcoming than that
which is held out today war craft will
be launched and put to sea, and regi-
ments will be enlisted and sent to the
frontiers. Great Britain Germany. the
United States, France, Japan. Russia,
Italy and Austria have more or less
formidable navies and are keeping at
the work OF making them more
formidable.
Battleship figures. because OF their
hghting Significance, seem to have In
terest for all people The battleships
In commission or building are: Great
Britain. 70: Germany, 80; United
States, 80; France. %; Japan, 10;
Italy, II; Russia 10, and Austro-Hun-
gary. 10. OF armored cruisers. Great
Britain has As. Germany 10, United
States II, France 90. These are the
latest figures and they show the com
parative strengths OF the great navies
OF the world AS they stand today.
What America Has Spent.
1t WAS not many years ago that the
United States began building what Is
known as the new navy. Up to the
present time ships OF the new or com
paratively new type, have cost the
people OF the United States for con.
struction alone $l77, ,S72,952. The
larger part OF this money has been
spent since the year 1900. though the
beginnings OF the new navy are to be
set back AS far as 1890. The people OF
the country have approved this eN
penditure. Members of congress al
ways have found that their constitu-
ents are perfectly willing that money
shall be spent for warships and the
further inland the district from which
the congressman comes the greater
seemingly the willingness that the
money should be put into torpedo
boats, cruisers or dreadnaughts Naval
appropriations always have been popu-
lar and In order to find the reason
somebody must get into the inner con.
sciousness OF the American people.
Why 10 It necessary to build new
ships every year In order to keep the
navy Mt its present standard of EN-
cheney? Time knocks the battleship
out without extending Itself to any
marked degree. There Is now In the
list OF really seryiceable American
battleships only one vessel that was
built prior to the year 1900 The one
exception is the battleship Iowa, which
was completed in 1897 The Indiana,
Massachusetts and Oregon. built
about the same time as the Iowa, are
no longer regarded as lighters. They
are not included in the total OF 36 bat.
tleships accredited to the United
States and yet It seems only yester-
day that these vessels we're carrying
the flag at the front Of the aghting on
Santiago
Railroads and Canal Tolls.
In certainly half OF the legisla.
uon enacted or proposed for enact.
ment by congress during the last . or
3 years, the railroads have entered
either as the angelic Little Eva or as
the brutalized I.egrec The carrier cor.
porations cast themselves as the angel
child while some geutlomauly law
makers with mean dispositions cast
them rs the slave driver
II some inspired one could take a
pencil and paper. do u little hguring
and adduce proof that American coast.
wise sailing ships can pay tolls
through the Panama canal and yet
compete with the railroads for tratiic
East and West, there would be less
heard in congress today Of the iniquity
OF repeating the tolls exemption clause.
This railroad matter II entering into
the present trouble In congress over
the question OF the repeal OF the tolls
exemption clause OF the canal act
There are men ready TO say that the
coaster ships can carry their cRrgoes
from the East coast TO the West coast
through the Panama canal and beat
the railroads on cost and on charges.
There are others who say that the
real reason for the demand for the
repeal OF the exemption clause is that
II is demanded by the transcontinental