Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-03-09
ITS fame RESTS
ON PREPAREDNESS
Congress That Has Just Passed
Responded to Demand for
Defense Acts.
INCREASED NAVY And ARMY
Vast Sums Appropriated for Fighting
VesseIs-Ship Purchase, Child La
Dor, immigration and Other
Important Laws Passed.

Washington, March Son it's re-
sponse to the popular demand for ma
tional preparedness will rest the fame
of the Sixty-fourth congress, which
has just expired. Though it also en-
acted some economic statutes of great
moment, the preparedness measures
stand out above 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
q 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
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, 80 torpedo
! boat destroyerS, nine fleet submarines,
| 5S coast submarines, 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
30 submarines, and one each of these
craft: Experimental submarine, fuel
ship, hospital ship, ammunition shiI
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 o.
the units for the reorganized battle
fleet will be appropriated for mex
year. Staggering sums have been re
CURED to meet these demands, the ma
val appropriation for the second ses
sion of the expired congress alone
amounting to almost round half-bil
lion dollars.
So great have been these expendi
lures that the ordinary sources Of rev
enue are not sufficient and specia
revenue measure had to be passed
Representative Kitchin, majority lead
er and chairman of the house way:
and means committee, a small-nav,
man, in drafting the revenue measur,
and pressing it to passage through tn,
house charged full responsibility fo
the measure to the advocates of pre-
paredness.
Increase of the Army.
: Increases of the regular army and it
reorganizations under the national de
fense act were less striking than tn
naval increases. But the regular arm
was Increased from an authorizes
peace strength of 100000 to an author
lied peace strength of 216,000, capabl
of expansion in war time to 256O0(
After prolonged agitation for prepared
ness both on land and sea, the conser
sus of the military experts was that tn
1 United States with it's enormous Iengt
of coast line must rely on its fleet t
3 defend its shores.
In the discussions that preparedness
! agitation in congress provoked it wa
] sgain and again demonstrated that th
: temper of the American people is al
3 sOlutely against a big standing arm.
] Former Secretary Garrison formulate
: and laid before congress with Pres
e dent Wilson's approval scheme for
= Continental army to be recruited an
trained under the universal militar
training principle. Representative Ha
= of Virginia, then chairman of the pov
erful house military committee, Of
posed the Continental army idea an
h substituted for it in the national d.
fense act, the liberalization of the M
tional Guard. Mr.. Hay won PresideI
Wilson over to his way of thinking
2 Federalized National Guard became Il
e second line of the land defenses an
), Secretary Garrison resigned from IL
f cabinet.
}. Other Notable Acts.
s Although preparedness was the Ike
note of legislation, the SiXty-four1
congress found time also to enact