Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-02-12

MAY BE THE LARGEST
Declares Building Program
Is Piece Of IncXcus-
able Extravaganza.
BY BURTON X. STANDISH.
(Mrlttnn for the United PressD

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1O.-"The
American people haven't any more
of an idea of what a great navy they
have than a lot of monkeys. ! don't
believe they know that the highest
naval officers Of the United States
who appeared before the house naval
affairs committee declared that we
have the greatest navy in the world,
excepting that Of England, and that
we do not need the addition Of $JO,-
OO0,O worth OF ships this year to
make it efficient Instead Of listening
to these authorities the people read
this bunk the naval agitators spread
around"
That is what the leader of the
"little navy men in the house de-
clared today. people mistake the
idea Of little navy said Judge With
crspoon of Mississippi the leader. I'VE
don't believe in little navy; we be-
lieve that the navy the United States
now has is adequate for defense pur-
poses, and we are opposed to building
new ships every year just to give the
big corporations more chance to
graft"
Discussing the naval appropriation
bin now before the house, with its
building program of two battleships,
representative WitherspOOn declared
that whole program "is a piece of in
eNCusable extravaganza"
Use of Submarines.
According to the testimony of the
best naval authorities in the United
States" said WitherspoOn, Sub
marines are the best insurance against
hostile attacks, But they also declare
that the United States already has an
abundance of submarines and all that
are necessary for our fleet We have
50 at the present time, Now, most
people do not know what submarines
are for. ] didn't until Captain Sterl-
ing, commander of the submarine flo
tlla, told me- 1t is not the idea of
naval stratogists to have submarines
at every port Captain Sterling said
all the United States needs is one for
each hattleShip. Submarines, he said,
must be used in a fleet to go out and
attack approaching vessels before the
dreadnaughts come up. 1t would be
useless to have a few submarines scat
tered I'm all our harbOrs because, in
time of war, the harbors can be mined
against all hostile attacks,
Witherspoon does not believe the
European war has demonstrated any
necessity for an increase in our navy.
officers who appeared before the
house naval affairs committee did not
advocate an increase in our force, He
said the new ships are being showed
upon the navy department.
The crowd Of naval prOpagandists
made such a howl through the news
papers about an inadequate navy that
the house committee has mistaken this
for public hentiment,' said Wither-
spoon. what the house committee
voted is entirely unnecessary"
WitherspOOn said that he and his
"little navy" followers would all vote
against the naval program, but he
added that anything the committee
reported would be carried in the
house.
If the European war lasts a year or
two more, this southern congressman
pointed out, the United States may
have the largest navy in the world,
He said England has lost 81 war yes
sells so far, Germany At, while the
other belligerents have lost ships, too.
"If the United States builds more and
more ships every year while the Eu
ropean powers lost more and more
every year, our navy will soon be the
largest in the world. Then the world
can point its finger of scorn at the
United States for being militaristic"
Witherspoon said he firmly believed
that the only reason two battleships a
year are built in the United States Is
that the work upon them is sufficient
to keep the largest ship p-building cor
porations and the armament plants at
work all the year round.