Republican farmer., 1920-03-12
FAILURE TO RATIFY MEANS BIGGER NAVY
 SAYS SEC. DANIELS
W7ill Recommend Larger Building Program If Treaty is Not Ratified At This Session of Congress He Tells the House Naval Commit . tee.

Washington, March - Secretary, aniels told the House Naval com mittee today he would recommend a naval building program for the next fiasca1 year larger than that proposed by the general board Eff the peace treaty is not ratified at this sessicn of Congress- Withholding final recom- mendation, however. the secretary added that if this country in the end rejected membership in the League of Nations he would feel impelIed to renew his recommendation for another three year program of construction.
 Reiterating his statement of last year that i've must have a League of Nations by which every nation will help preserve the peace of the world without competitive naval building, or we must have incomparably the big gest navy in the world" MT. Daniels declared there was not middle ground"
 T had hoped to appear before this committee today" the secretary con- tinued, with a final recommen dation to a building program but as the sen ate has not yet acted upon 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 opera tion, composed at first of all the nations allied or associated in the world war and with provision for ad- mittance of all other nations opposed to conquest and militarism, it woulG not be necessary to impose on the taxpayers of America the assessment necessary for building more capital ships."
 The program which the secretary recommended be authorized in event the treaty is not ratified, agreed with the general boards proposal as ta capital shipS-two battleShips and one battle cruiser-but added to that proposal 20 light cruisers and IA f1o- til1a leaders, or super-destroyers. No light cruisers and only six super-de- stroyers were recommended by the board.
 It had been his intention, if the peace treaty were ratified with the possibility of arznaments being cur tailed and regulated" the secretary declared, to recommend definitely only such a moderate" building pro- gram necessary to round out the fleet" No capital ships would have been included in this program, he added but in the unsettled condition of the world today" he declared, the American navy must be prepared for any emergency"
 'AThe question for you to decide, '' the secretary told the committee, "is whether the United States in future building shall undertake simply tc round out it's navy by building units of types in which we are now short or shall embark on further expansion in addition
 Secretary Daniels empathized the fleets deficiency in light cruisers and other secondary craft as demonstrat- ed by war lessons. The present bat tleship strength, he pointed out would be increased by the ten dread naughts now building, more power full than any batueships afioat," il addition to the six battle cruisers un der construction. necessitating more auxiliary craft.
 Destroyers and other anti-submarin' craft construction during the war, MT Daniels said, have taxed facilities ant prevented balanced additions to tht fleet, while Great Britain had beer able to carry out 2 well balanced pro gram He pointed out that the Brit ish navy had increased it's light cruis CTS to 76, against which the American navy has only three, all of doubtful value.
 In addition to capital ships the sec retary's contingent program include' six scout cruisers, eight mine layin: cruisers, six fleet submarines, four air plane carriers. and other auxiliar craft.