Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-24
NOT PORK, BUT PREPAREDNESS

II the nation Il to put the navy in proper
shane without delay, II must come TO the
shipbuIldine centre Of the country on the
Delaware.
UNHE possibility OF war is bringing the lead
Il ers in Congress to their senses Naval
strategists have agreed for long time that
the League Island Navy Yard Is the most
suitable site for the proposed large, new naval
.drydock. Political influence has been brought
to bear In favor of 6ther sites, and no decision
has been reached. There was no great press
ing emergency to force action and to com
pei the leaders to consider the question on
its merits.
That emergency has now arisen and the
Committee on Naval Affairs Of the House has
decided to recommend that two drydocks be
built One is to be recommended for Newport
News-that project has vitality greater than
its desertsLand a larger one is to be proposed
for League Island The Philadelphia dock is
to be 1900 feet long, divided by gates so that
two battlesllPs can be accommodated at once
The conmiftffe is also said to be favoraby
inclined -pSsPhiadelphia as the site for the
proposed experimental laboratory recon-
mended by the Naval Advisory Board. 1t is
expected to report in faror of this city.
= What the nation wants at this time is naval
preparedness, and 1t wants it without delay
The way to get 1t Is TO go where the pest
equipment exists for building ships and MAX
ing ammunition ana casting guns. That place
is the Delaware River and the country tribu-
tary to 1t. Every Congressman who has given
any attention to the subject knows that the
!. Delaware is the greatest shipbuildng centre
IN the United States In the fiscal year end
ing with June 80 of last year 1s ships OF
1000 gross tons and over were built in the
A.I Nf
Nine of these ships were built the
Delaware, of which two were constructed in
wilmington, four in Camden and three in
Philadelphia; but they were all built within
metropolitan Philadelphia. Since the report
of the Commissioner of Navigation was issued
two new shipyards have been projected and
will soon be IN operation. Seven million dol
lars is to be invested in ship plant at Chester.
in the outskirts of this city, and large sum
is to be spent in building another plant at
Gloucester, on the New Jersey shore, within
sight of the League Island Navy Yard. These
new plants will doubtless be in shape to bid
for making warships of one kind or another
as soon as the plans have been drawn by the
Navy Department.
But il the Government is planning to build
some of the new ships itself. 1t cannot fail
to develop the League Island Navy Yard into
a shpyard without neglecting the most ad-
vantageous opportunity that confronts 1t any
where. The United States owns land enough
for all possible needs, not only for shipways
and machine shops, but for the experimental
laboratory as we'll The Congressman know
this, but men more anxious for pork" than
for the protection of their country have
ignored it in the past, while they have voted
for appropriations for their particular neigh.
borhoods. National preparedness is an issue
of greater Importance than the filling OF the
congressional pork barrel Philadelphia un
derstands this and the Philadelphia Congress
men realize it, This city offers TO the nation
its shipbuilding facilities. 1t offers to 1t the
advantages of its location on great tidal
estuary ninety miles from the sea. with deep
channel for the largest ships. 1t offers its
thousands of trained and skilled shipbuid
ers. 1t offers its proximity to the great steel
mills and ammunition factories and gun found
rles. And it demands in the name of business
efficiency, national economy and expeditions
preparation for future contingencies that
Congress have the wisdom to do the obvious
thing and make the League Island Navy
Yard the great central ship construction and
repair base the Atlantic coast.
Congress will do this If it allows considera-
ton of public spirit to govern it. 1t is not
navy yard for the sake of developing League
Island. The other yards are necessary, at
least some of them. They have served a use
full purpose and are still serving 1t. What is
needed now is not pairing down appropriations
for Brooklyn, or Boston, or Newport News,
but an expansion of appropriations for League
Island to meet the needs of a growing navy.
There is no time for delay, for 1t was true
when Rear Admiral Fiske said it in November,
1914, that 'if this country avoids a war dur
ing the next five years it will be accomplished
only by a happy combination Of high diplo.
matte skill and rare good fortune" It is
truer today. The crisis which became acute
last week with the Presidents address TO
Congress shows how close we are to- the
brink. 1t put upon the defensive every Con-
gresham who has been delaying action on
national preparation, and let us hope. ii con-
verted the lukewarm and the laggards into
ardent supporters OF a policy of immediate and
effective work to put us in condition to meet
any events that the future may unfold.