The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-27
FALSE ECONOMY PROVING RUIN
 OF J. 5. NAVY
Navy Today Not Ready, Says Reliable News
 paper Man.

Washington, March 27-tNavy is Facing Ruin - Failure of House to Act on pay Bill Causes Disintegra- ton'' runs the headline of an article in a Washington paper which takes Congress to task for it's policy in dealing with the departments in it's program of false economy" through which the Republican leaders are at tempting to fool the public into be- ueVing that 1t is saving money to the taxpayers
 ''The American Navy, once the proud boast of the Nation, rapidly is dlsintegrating while the leaders of the House of Representatives allow day after day and week after week to go by without taking the simple step of appointing conferees to reach an agreement with the Senate for an ancre~ se in pay of the enlisted per sonnel-a step which would save to the navy many of the trained men who now are quitting the service as fast as they can find a way out runs the first paragraph of the article, which is from the pen of Robert T. Small, one of the best known, most widely read and thor oughly reliable of Washington cor respondents MT Small was with the Associated Press for many years, going overseas for that service during the war, and none of the Washing ton newspaper writers has a wider acquaintance with public men and af- fairs than he
 Without any desire to be sensa- tional," says Mr. Sna1Ts article, "it is only solemn truth to state that the navy today is not ready for any sort of emergency, and could not be made E1 ffE fnY E,c- ( | Sc, dermanned- Most of the enlisted d men are boys 1T and IS years Of age, absolutely green hands
 The reason for Congress failure to act is not explained, says The Post, but MT Small suggests that Perhaps it is a part of the economy program of the House leaders" The House has permitted weeks to pass, and yet there has been no action Even Sen Ate leaders have criticized the House for it's inaction, AFbut nothing has stir red the House leaders They have been content to let the matter wait until such time as they should choose to act" comments MT Small
 Citing the important place the petty officers hold in the navy ma chine, they being to the navy what the non-co1nmissioned officers are to the army MT Small writes thai these petty officers have been 1eav- ing the navy as fast as circumstances have permitted Some have spent as much as twenty years in the service, loved it and expected to spend their lives in it Navy officials have held many of these men in the service with the hope that Congress would do something to increase their pay SC as to keep some step with the ad- vancing cost of living, but nothing has been done Everything waits on Congress. The Navy Department of hciaIs can do nothing
 'fSornethfng definite must be done about the navy and at once,'' writes MT Small Some definite policy must be adopted by Congress Therl must be a decision one way or the other Either Congress must deter mine to maintain 9 first-class navy 1T first-class fighting trim or it mus determine to abolish the navy alto gethc~ There is no intermediate ground"
 The authorized enlisted strength Oi the navy is 10000 mens there ars about 70,0GO fn the navy now, o whom only about 5000 have served one or more enhstments Congress by its niggardly policy, has failed no only to make fae sea service irvit IfS Io fecFu1tsa put 1tfpOSSlDIe as career for those already in the ser vice.
 The second greatest navy in tn world, the navy that put 'en across" transporting two million sol diers to France without a single los of life, a navy comprising some 0 the finest fighting crafts afloat, is be irg allowed to diE&ntegrate throug the niggaodly policy of a congres controlled by seven members of tn Republican steering committee w49ie: w-ieldS more power than Speaker Can non ever possessed when he was z his zenith.