New-York tribune., 1920-03-07
Naval
Building Plans
Rest on Treaty
Secretary Presents Three
Programs to House Com
naittee, Dependent Upon
Action ON Pact i'm Senate

WASHINGTON, March 6. - Three
provisional naval building programs,
dependent on Senate action on the
peace treaty, were laid before the House
Naval Committee to-day by Secretary
Daniels.
If the United States ratified the
treaty and became member Of the
league Of nations, Mr.. Daniels said he
would recommend new construction
only to "round out" the feet now built
OF building; if the Senate rejected the
treaty and the United States definitely
decided not to Join the league, he said
he would urge duplication of tho three
year program Of 1915, with some modi-
fications. with view Of making the
fleet "incomparably" the greatest in the
world.
In case the Senate took no final &C.
ton on the treaty at this session od
Congress, the Secretary said he woull
present q sixty-nine-ship program 70,
construction as rapidly as possible. n
order that the United States might NOT
ing.
Opposes Independent Ain Service
Secretary Daniels told the COMMITTEES
1t must choose between the three pro-
posals. The sixty-nine-ship program,
he said, would cost about $195, ,00O, 900.
de did not give any estimate of the
cost Of a new three-year program.
Mr.. Daniels said that aircraft would
never make battleships obsolete, and
added that aviation was Essentially an
integral part Of the feet" Express
ing opposition to efforts to institute an
Independent air service, he said If such
action were taken he believed it would
end in failure.
Civil aviation should be entirely di-
vorced from the military and naval
branches, he said. The Secretary advo-
Gated early passage Of legislation regu-
lating private aerial navigation by Fed
eral agencies. Civil aviation should be
encouraged, he declared, but should
not be developed by a great expendi-
ture Of the public funds.
Reiterating his statement Of last
year that we must have q league Of
nations by which every nation will help
preserve the peace Of the world with
out competitive naval building, or we
must have tncemparably the biggest
navy in, the world" Mr.. Daniels de-
clared there was no middle ground"
Uncertainties in Situation
"I had hoped to appear before this
committee to-day" the Secretary con-
tinued, with a final recommendation
as to, building program, but as the
Senate has not yet acted upen the peace
treaty, there are uncertainties in the
situation. If the covenant had been
ratified our duty would have been plain.
With the league in operation, composed
at first Of all the nations allied or as
sociated in the World War, and with
provision for admittance Of all other
nations opposed to conquest and mill
tarism, it would not be necessary to
impose on the taxpayers of America
the assessments necessary for building
more capital ships"
The program which the Secretary
recommended pending ratification Of
the treaty included two battleships
and one battle-cruiser. twenty light
cruisers and fourteen Aotilla leaders,
or super-destroyars.
Included in the tentative three-year
program Mr.. Daniels outlined were ten
dreadnoughts and six battle-cruisers,
but he added he would ask appro-
priations the hrst year for only TWO
battleships and one battle-cruiser. In