Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-09
Selected by Tavenner

good and plenty. We have been strug-
Cling along with Is rear admirals. The
experts proposed legislation, which
was adopted by the senate, which
would provide for somewhere between
| 68. as estimated by the house con-
ferees, and So as estimated by the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Cox.
| The conferees, with cruel disregard
for the feelings of the experts, cut the
number of rear admirals down to an
addition OF 3 Immediately, in the
near future, and a possibility of 80
| in all when the navy is recruited to
the full strength allowed under the
new law
| Since 1 have been in congress var
! ious questionable things have been
| proposed at one time and another, but
do not recall any case that COM
pares with this increase of officers
proposed by the navy department in
pure and unadulterated nerve. 1t is a
proposal that ought to shame every
man who approved it. A rear admiral
costs the country from eight to ten
thousand dollars year, depending up
on whether he belongs to the upper
or lower grade, and the conferees, in
trimming the rear admirals, have
saved the country about S350,000 a
year to begin with and ultimately
twice that sum. Incidentally, of
course, they have interfered with the
ambitions Of some people whose real
interest in preparedness, so called,
grew out of the hope that they or
their relatives or friends would secure
high rank and big pay at the expense
Of the taxpayers
1t would take altogether too long to
enumerate or discuss all the utterly
unworthy and the questionable propo--
sitions which have been advanced
under the cover of preparedness, and
some of which have gotten through
After having talked for years about
abandoning unnecessary naval sta
tons, we are now proposing to build
them up and buy more. There is an
item of a million in this bill, which I
hope will ultimately go out for the
improvement of Charleston navy yard.
where there is not water enough to af-
ford good diving facilities for a flock
Of mudhens. In order to get prepared
ness, we have to accept a $50 900 900
expenditure for Improvement of an
Alabama river on the plea that we
must manufacture more nitrates for
gunpowder.
All these things suppose must be
expected, however, whenever national
ment, controls in planning for the
country's defenses. We certainly can
not be accused of not having done
enough in this congress for prepared
ness. I figure the expenditures as fol-
lows:
Total appropriations for military
purposes, 1917.
Army .S267. 500 $40 q
Navy .................. 313 $500, O95.S4
Forti1cations ...... 25,748, O50. 90
Military Academy ...... 1925, 043 81
Dehc1enc1es .... 27,204, 068. SO
Deficiency estimates
pending ........... 5000 100000
AOIdl Sb41 ,O13 1884
That is certainly a snug sum to be
spent in one year of peace on the
army and navy by people who call
themselves nonmilitary and pride
themselves on being free from mill
tary burdens. 1t is more than twice
the military burden that any nation |
in Europe ever placed upon her peo-
pie prior to the European war. 1t is |
more than the total receipts of our
government from all sources in the |
fiscal year 1915. Is it not about time |
we began to look at these matters |
without hysteria and with sober judg- |
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