The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-01-14
Much Debate In Siqht.

ton. According to advices received by The Ad-
yertiser from the capital, at least three months
Of hard DIR ling at the committee tables will be
required, according to the experts, to whip the
naval bill into shape, although the army measure
may not take that long @" PEI
The process promises an abundance of fire.
works and many interesting days--also deal Of
unnteresting routine. Referring again to expert.
opinion within the navy committee. the outlook
is that President Wilson'S program as outlined
some weeks ago, will be endorsed to the house.
This statement is made with full knowledge that
FIVE of the thirteen Democrats on the house naval
affairs committee will probably balk However,
the committee has rarely allowed politics to sway
its deliberations and there are probably enough
Republicans to make majority for what the
President wants. -aa ..' =. ~.
Numerous Republican members of the house
and not few Democratic members have requested
the privilege of attending the committee hearings
which begin with the reassemblng of congress-
Perhaps some of these members will want to
testify before the committee notably Represent.
ative Augustus p. Gardner of Massachusetts who
now has the dubious status of being the father.
in-law of preparedness" But the indications are
that most of these requests for privilege to at
tend grew out of a wish on the part of represent
atives to,keep well informed about the great navy
issue. Naval committee hearings are reported
geographically but il is days and often weeks
before the printed testimony is available. ..t.h Va
* The purpose of the extended hearings under
the full glare Of publicity isto educate the Amer
lean public as much as possible. Questions of
naval policy, as against more or lesstechnical de-
tails of construction and administrator to be
determined by the house committee and the big
legislative battle will be fought out largely on the
lines that this committee recommends. For the
new program whatever it is to be, will be carried
on and with the annual naval appropriation bill
and the house, under the Constitution is given the
initiative with such measures. H.
In line with this pltn, the hearings are to be
conducted at one of the spacious halls II the
House Office Building. 1t will be easy for ,prac-
ticaliy everybody, who comes to gain admission,
although the audience much of the time may be
very small Nevertheless there should be many
star days, especially when it comes the turn of
Secretary Daniels to be heard. 1t is estimated he
will be witness for something like fortnight,
certainly for as much as a week.
The bureau chiefs will be heard first Counting
the commandant of the Marine Corps and the
commander-in-chief of the Atlantic feet there
are quite a dozen of these chiefs and week or
two will be required for them. Much of their
testimony will be of little popular concern, for
there is vast amount of routine in such an estab
lishment as the United States Navy, with which
the committee voting appropriations must be
somewhat familiar. 4, ,,St:.
There are FIVE new members of the house COM
mittee--a factor to be reckoned with under all
The circumstances One of the circumstances is
that all but one or two of them are Little Navy
men and will probably seek to tie a lot of the
Navy witnesses into hard knots This is not
usually an easy undertaking but the Little
Navy" representatives very industrious at it.
However the rigid cross examinations help bring
out the truth and that apparently is what the
country wants.
Veterans of the house committee on the other
hand, are quite eager to get those Statesmen of
the General Board upon the witness stand. For
years and years, high officers of the General Board
of the Navy, have been making quite as extraVa-
giant recommendations they pleased, aware that
they would not be called publicly to account, Their
reports were kept confidential. The makers of
such reports could talk around at their club and
at other private gatherings, dropping sage obserya-
tions about the parsimony of congress and re-
ferring lightly to the lawmakers on the Hill who
would not heed and sound advice
Now w:th most of the country, save some ex-
tremists, rather staggered at the General Boards
first report TO Secretary Daniels, parcel of high
admirals and captains surely on the way to
an uncomiortaDle cross examination IL VIII not
be solely Little Navy" members who are to
analyze the first report. One ranker after another
including probably Admiral Dewey, will be re-
CURED to justify his high-priced views,
If the Navy Bill is ready for the house by April
!, the committee will have done well, even con-
sidering the pressure for early determination of
naval policies especially as to construction. But
il isYregarded as more important both to make a
right decision and one that will have the support
OF the country than to make haste at the sacrifice