The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-05-15
A Changed Attitude

Golfers Weekly is dissatisfied with the halt
ing progress Of the administrators naval policy
Like hundreds of other journals it is anxious
that the navy be put on standard where 1t can
cope with other nations. Wilson's dilatory tao
tics provoked the following editorial comment:
The conversion Of the Administration to Wig
orous navy policy goes on slowly, but it does
show kind of hating and confused progress.
Hardly more than year ago the President was
men like Congressman Gardner who
spoke out for program reasonably suited to the
most pressing needs of the hour, and was en-
couraging the absurd and dangerous notion that
the navy was "all right" that it would give a
good account of ITSELF" that it was stronger
than the German navy" But few months ago
his eyes apparently had been opened at last to
the real situation, for then he said: "And do you
think that navy that ranks only fourth in the
world is enough to defend the coasts and make
secure territory of great continent like this ?"
And he added: "The navy of the United States
must now be as rapidly as possible brought to
state of efficiency and of numerical strength
which will make it practically impregnable to the
naves of the world"
Last July the General Board the brains of
the navy, was asked specifically to formulate
in the most definite terms" plan for the devel-
opment of the navy, and the General Board re-
Piled: 1.-THE navy of the United States should
ultimately be equal to the most powerful main
tanned by any other nation of the world" It has
taken the President the better part of year to
come to an agreement with the men who ought
to be his technical advisers in this al-important
matter, but whose mature opinion he permitted
Secretary Daniels to overrule. The facts were
as clear to everyone connected with the admins
%,.o% a0f+ hn %nIo
was well known that our own slackness and the
energy of other powers had placed the American
navy infinitely below the German in battle pow
er and probably below the French and Japanese
navies also. On the other hand, the President
was acutely aware Of the dangers of our diplo-
matte situation and was doing much to aggravate
them by the just severity of the tone of his warn
ings. Yet during all this period his attitude, if
not always his words, dsheartened all but the
most earnest advocates of larger navy and gave
courage to the mean-spirited, and in some cases,
we firmly believe, purchased agitation against
naval increase. This is what we cannot under
stand about the President: that while he has
boldly challenged at least one of the powers in
what is known as fighting language the world
over he has at the time left the duty of pre-
pairing to support this challenge to Secretary
Daniels and the little clique surrounding him, and
has permitted them to intrigue with the profess
sional pacifists, issue false and misleading state
ments concerning the strength of the navy, con-
ceal it's fatal defects, suppress wholesome con-
structive criticism, punish with patry vindictiv-
ness men bold enough to publish their differences
with the cabal, and, by playing the cheapest kind
of cheap politics the navy yards and prac-
ticing the meddlesome and expensive "econo-
mics" of men without business training, so post
pone building that when a ship is authorized it
is safe bet that the keel will not be laid within
a year.