Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-02-26
JAP MINISTER
MAKES PLEA FOR
GREATER NAVY
Declares Every Day of Delay
Means One More Day Of
Danger to the Empirei His
Speech Creates Sensation
Associated Pres. Correspondence,

iAkio, Jan. l3.-lhe most talked
Of public utterance Of the week in ia
pan Is q plea for greater navy put
forth by Admiral Tomasaburo Kato,
minister OF the marine. who COM
manded the Japanese ships that bonn
barded the German fortress Mt Using
tao.
Among the most forccful assertions
he makes in his bigger navy argu-
ment are the following:
Every day the plan Of naval re-
pletion is delayed mems one day
more Of danger to the empire"
When the time comes that a ma
ton is unable to meet the outlay
necessary to- adequate naval defense
that nation Is bankrupt
ITO abandon the navy Is tanta-
mount to abandoning the state
SHOULD emergency arise the ma
ton has no right to expect the pres
ent navy to meet ana defeat any enc
my OF Importance"
Pointing out that If the plan now
under contemplation Is completed ia
pan Will have but four ships OF the
dreadnaught Fuse type and four new
battle cruisers OF the Kongo class,
the admiral believes that Germany
viii have forty-one battleships and
twenty battle cruisers under her ar
ranged program and emphasizes tina.
the American navy is expanding at a
corresponding rate. Russia. too. he
said. was building up great navy Of
three squadrons Of twelve units each
compared with which the navy OF
Japan Will be quite insignificant.
Present Plans Inadequate.
The minister added: Japan can
never afford to be satisfied with her
present naval plans II she expects to
maintain the position she has won.
She will then be obliged to take her
place beside China, Greece and Spain.
Japan must replace her present obso-
lete units by units of modern eff
cheney"
What he wanted for his country,
he said, was at least twelve battle
ships Of the Fuse class. Even at
that, he asserted, Japans fleet would
still be inferior TO some others. Left
as it was now he believed that the ma
Wy would be worthless in case of war.
Looking backward TO the war with
Russia the minister makes the point
that although the victory at the
great battle Of Tsushima has been as
scribed to the virtues of the emperor
and the skill Of the hero Admiral To-
go, nothing could have saved the day
if naval preparation had been made
Quate.
The very thought makes every
true japanese shudder,' the admiral
declared. Prepared as we then were
II was none the less necessary for the
after the war to take steps
for further increasing the navy, but
they have been hindcred somewhat by
limitation"
Growth Of Other Nayics.
Meantime the minister declared the
great powers have expanded their
navies. causing h vast and significant
h1itbt All INT bRtbAiNt VI nav I'll pbN
or. The German, American and Brit.
ish were all in the first line of battle
fleets and although at the time of the
war the Japanese ma
w was listed In the naval annual as
one Of the great fighting forces OF
the world 1t is now no longer so de-
scribed. This was because in naval
accretion Japan had not kept abreast
Of other great nayies.
In conclusion the minister contend
ed that Japan had no ambition 20
compete with any other nation in ma
val expansion. Competition on ma
val armaments had been shown TO be
futile By the examples Of England
and Germany. Japan's only desire
WINS adequate defense. He said we
should have a force equal to any that
an enemy might send to these waters
Our present plans are certainly any.
thing but extrayagant or ambitious.
The nation should not be endangered
on account OF mere financial con.
sidcrations. The safety Of the em-
pire can not be left TO the fluctuations
Of the treasury, Every day the plan
Of naval repietion is delayed means
one day more of danger to the EN-.
pire"