Arizona republican., 1918-12-26
The German Ships

President Wilson has emphatically declared his opposition to sinking the ships of the captured Ger man navy. The president has, doubt, been moved to this declaration by dispatch printed a few days ago in which stated that this government would accede to the British view that the captured ships should be taken out to and sunk-something that all right minded persons have regarded as pro- posed criminal We glad that the president taken this stand.
 The reason given for the destruction of the ships that it would obviate any dispute that might arise over the division of them among the allies. At hat time suggested by The Republican that if The allies could reach agreement in that mat ter there little hope that they could be brought together more vital matters, and matters which would be richer sources of contention would be a confession that the allies are not coming together into the peace conference in spirit which promises amicabe adjustment of the worlds affairs.
 There has been offered what we may regard as palIiation of the proposed criminal waste that the German ships are of type which makes unsuitable their addition to any other navy. It is true that they of different type. It is said, though hat they of inferior type They are up to date Some of them yet finished. Perhaps the aver of modernity among them is higher than that of other navy that that for their destruc- ion is not convincing. In fact. apparent that has been put forward only the theory that poor excuse is better than none.
 If the world were going of the naval business then there might be q for the destruction the ships, though there might even then be a great deal of salvage from them. They could not, perhaps be adapted to commercial But the world is not going out of the naval business. There no let up in our naval program, which the war stimulated, and for every ship we build the British will build wo in order that her proportions as the mistress of the sea, may be main tained. So, if these German ships be utilized, some billions of dollars may be saved to already overburdened world.
 The United States, after the Spanish American war raised many of the Spanish vessels sunk in the bays of Santiago and Manila and, notwithstanding they had been seriously damaged by shell and water they became serviceable additions to our navy Here are the undamaged German warships nearly all of them modern some of them and some in an ad- 5anced stage of completion.
 For only one reason can the British government proposed their destruction the difficulty of pro- posing division that would be satisfactory to Great Britain. The British could not bring themselves to say that they must have the lions share of them; that the division be disproportionateIy in favor of Great Britain An equal division would impair at the proportion of the worlds warships which the British claim
 Nor could the British assert that their greater services entitled them the greater share of the captured ships They were received it is true by the British Grand Fleet but if America had not intervened a year and a half before, Great Britain would not have lived to receive them. Great Britain and America came to be dependent upon each other Without the British navy would have been help less, and without the British navy would have been left without base and soon have pershed from lack of support