Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-03-13
OO|NGs Of THE
LATE CONGRESS
Notable for Response to the De-
mand for Preparedness.
AUTHORIZED A GREAT NAVY
Provided Also for Increase and Reor.
ganization of Army-Some of the
Momentous Economic Statutes
That Were Passed.

Washington, March 5.-The Sixty
fourth congress, which has passed into
the annals Of things that were, will be
long remembered as the congress
which responded to the demand for
national preparedness. While eco
nomic statutes of pith and moment
have been written into the law of the
| land, preparedness measures, inspired
by the European war, out-top all other
| legislation.
Although ample provision has been
made for Notifications, and authority
has been granted by congress to more
than double the standing army Of the
country, the metamorphosis of the
| United States from a commercial to
a fighting nation has been wrought
| by the naval increases authorized.
The congress now expired has au-
| thorized naval ornaments destined to
make Uncle Sam eventually the peer
Of any nation on earth in sea power,
excepting, perhaps, Great Britain.
| In the two sessions comprising the
| Sixty-fourth congress there have
been authorized and appropriated for
no less than 11S war craft. Nor is
| this all. The first session adopted a
three-year-building program, the con-
| structiOn Of which should be under
taken prior to July 1, 1918. This pro-
| gram included this allotment of fight
! ing ships: Ten battleships, six battle
cruisers, ten scout cruisers, so torpedo
boat destroyer nine fleet submarines,
% coast subma- mes, one experimental
submarine (Neff system), three fuel
| ships, one repair ship, one transport,
one hospital ship, two destroyer ten
ders, one fleet submarine tender, two
ammunition ships, two gunboats.
Naval Vessels Appropriated For.
! By the act which adopted this build
Ing program congress appropriated
for four battleships, four battle cruis-
ers, four scout cruisers, 20 destroyers,
80 submarines, and one each of these
craft: Experimental submarine, fuel
ship, hospital ship, ammunition ship
and gunbOat. During the second ses-
! sion provision was made for three bat
| tleships, one battle cruiser, three scout
cruisers, Is destroyers, one destroyer
| tender, one submarine tender and IS
| submarines.
If the SiXty-fifth congress adopts the
three-year program the remainder of
the units for the reorganized battle
fleet will be appropriated for next
| year. Staggering sums have been re-
| quired to meet these demands, the ma
val appropriation for the second SEES
sion of the expired congress alone
| amounting to almost a round half-bil-
| lion dollars.
! So great have been these expendi-
lures that the ordinary sources of rev.
enue are not sufficient and a special
| revenue measure had to be passed.
Representative Kitchin, majority lead
| err and chairman of the house ways
| and means committee, a small-navy
man, in drafting the revenue measure
and pressing it to passage through the
house charged full responsibility for
the measure to the advocates of pre-
| paredneSs.
Increase of the Army.
Increases of the regular army and its
reOrganizatiOns under the national de-
| tense act were less striking than the
naval increases. But the regular army
| was increased from an authorized
peace strength of 100000 to an author
lied peace strength of 216,000, capable
In A0
After prolonged agitation for prepared
| ness both on land and sea, the consen-
| suS of the military experts was that the
| United States with its enormous length
| Of coast line must rely on its feet to
| defend its shores.
In the discussions that preparedness
| agitation in congress provoked 1t was
| again and again demonstrated that the
temper of the American people is alb
| Solutely against big standing army.
| Former Secretary Garrison formulated
and laid before congress with Presi-
dent Wilson's approval scheme for a
| Continental army to be recruited and
/ trained under the universal military
! training principle. Representative Hay
/ of Virginia, then chairman of the pow
erful house military committee, OPP
| posed the Continental army idea and
substituted for it in the national de-
tense act, the liberalization of the Ma
tional Guard. Mr.. Hay won President
Wilson over to his way of thinking-the
| Federalized National Guard became the
second line of the land defenses and
| Secretary Garrison resigned from the
| cabinet.
Other Notable Acts.
Although preparedness was the key
! note of legislation, the Sixty-fourth
! congress found time also TO enact a
| ship purchase bill, the AdamSon eight
| hour railroad law, child labor law, a
/ measure to forbid the immigration of
| nuterate aliens, a rural credits bill, a
vocational educational bill and an act
reorganizing the government of Porto
Rico and extending citizenship to the
| islanders.
The snip purchase bin established
/ a government shipping board to SUI
pervise shipping matters generally. 1t
| appropriated S50.00o.000 to be OBJ