The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1915-11-25

as others, this question IS NOT
A PARTY QUESTION BUT
ONE FOR THE THOUGHT AND
CONVICTION OF EACH INDI
VIDUAL. ThePresident knows
too, that in all matters before my
Committee, and especially in
raising sufficient revenue to IL
nance all appropriations and in
every effort he shall make to re
deem the pledges our party made
to the people, he shall have my
hearty and earnest cooperation.
I fear that neither the Presi
dent nor the Secretary of the
Navy, with their other manifold
duties, have possibly had the
time to give the detailed study
and thought to the subject which
many Of us have. I recall thai
the President in his letter of July
21st to the Secretary of the Navy
(which, by-the-way, [ had not
seen until some time after my
letter in Septem Der to the New
York World), asked for advice OF
naval experts, saying: I want
their advice, a program by them
formulated in the most definite
terms. :" [ cannot help believing
that the military and naval ex
perts have badly advised and
misinformed both the President
and the Secretary Of the Navy
Naval officers or experts are moi
competent judges Of the policy
which this country should pun.
sue. Their very training o.
thought and their am bition are
to see only one function Of the
GOvernment-that of the NAVY
They know what will crafty thei1
am bition. They know what they
want. From the time man en-.
ters Annapolis, as long as he lives
his am bition is to command bat
tleships, the magnificent floating
sea palaces, and battleship fleets.
This consumes his thought. It
is natural, therefore, and inevita-
bic that ne should consider the
needs Of the country in accord
ance with his wants and ambi-
ton. The naval expert knows
how to build or superintend the
building Of ships and how to fight
them when built. That is his
thought, his profession, his am
bltion. Since the General Navy
Board was established in 1903
every President and every Score
tary Of the Navy, except one, has
recognized these propensities
and limitations Of the naval Off
GERS Or naval experts, and every
President since 1903, since the
Naval Board s first recommends
tons, and every Secretary, ex-
cept one, until now, have reject
ed and declined to accept their
recommendations, and no Con
gress has ever yetapproved them
Mr.. Roosevelt did not accept
them. Only one Of his Score
taries, Mr.. Metcalf, did. Meth.
er did Mr.. Taft, nor his Score
tary Of the Navy. accept their
recommendations at any time
during his four years term.
Both Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Score
tary Daniels in 1913 declined &c
accept their recommendations
They declined again to accept
their expert opinions in 1914, five
months after the European War
had begun. They both opposed
their recommendations and SO
did Admiral Fletcher, the high
est active officer in the NAVY.
Commander Of the Atlantic Fleet.
But: now the papers denounce
me as an idiot, as traitor to
my country, to my party and to
the Administrations if [ do not
swallow at one gulp the recon-
mendations Of the naval experts,
because the President and his
Secretary Of the Navy, for the
flrst time, accept them.
Z. The regular, orderly, normal
program:
At the last Session of CONGRESS-
this Year, the President, the Sec
rotary Of the Navy, Admiral Flet-
cher, and other Naval Command
ders, and the Democrats in Con
gress opposed the program Of
the Hobsons, Gardeners and other
Cmuch smaller than the
present proposed program). The
policy OF the Administration was
summed up before the Naval Com
mlttee in the words Of the Score
tary Of the Navy TT would BE
MOST UNWISE for us to act to-
day III any particular as we would
not have acted if there was no
war: Ny theory IS THAT OUR,
OUGHT TO BE CAR
3 YlNG ON ITS REGULAR OR
Derby, NORMAL PROGRAM
AS TO THE NAVY. With our
policies and our American ideas
mink the policy recommended in
nv report and ado,,4o1 Ii