The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1921-04-08
The Navy.


U. S. Government finances was made,
showing that by May, 1928, there
would be deficit in the national
treasury of $500, 900. The war
debt to be cancelled is $500, 600, 900
and the expenses for two years will
be approximately $4,000, 900, 900.
The revenues will be approximately
$4,000, 100000
The difference will be $500, 00O,-
900.
Now, the former Secretary of the
Navy, Hon. Josephus Daniels, makes
a very pretty case of how Uncle Sam
needs navy equal to England's, but
he does not tell us how this deficit in
the U. S. Treasury is to be met, and
how, with the expenditure of $780,
100000 this year and 100000
900 next year for this great sea pow
er, the solution of our financial prob
lens is to be any easier.
The Saturday evening Post as we'll
as many of the leading daily news
papers, makes a demand upon Con-
gress for reduction of expenditures.
The Post asserts that we cannot af-
ford naval and military preparations
upon scale of such magnitude as
the departments are asking for
Much less can we afford the spirit of
militarism in peace times.
The former Secretary enters the
columns of the Pest with his state
ment defending the naval pro-
gramme, and the Post disposes of the
matter in few words to the effect
that we might as well go to hell and
bankruptcy together.
The statement made by Secretary
Daniels is that we want to be equal
to any other naval power in fighting
strength, yet he admits that when
our program is finished the U. s..
Navy will not be any greater in ton
mage but stronger in frst-line ships.
The trouble is that while we are try
ing to catch up and making sure
stealthily that we go little over,
England will be ever on the alert to
see that we do not have sea power
equal to her own, and so the 1916
u. s. Navy three-year program will
be but the beginning of an endless
chain of battleship building, with
greater demands and burdens upon
the taxpayers and decentralization to
manufacturing and agricultural in
dustries.
1t is not our province to criticise
or object to an adequate navy for
coast defense, for our outlying prov
inces or for our merchant marine,
and even to the idea of having one of
the geatest navies afioat, if that will
not incur a useles rivalry in navy
building; but while Europe is pros
trate, starving and helpless, England
in the hands of Irish and labor prob
lens, with billions of war debt de-
moralizing trade and industry, why
should we rush like mad into an
imaginary mares nest? Why should
the Government of the United States,
at time like this, consume all the
output of the steel and iron mills at
enormous profits to these private
monopolies, while the manufactur-
ing and farming industries are in a
measure helpless because they can
not be supplied from these mills with
the machinery they need to carry on
and to keep the factories and farms
and the business of the country from
going to the bow-wows?
Why is it the pet hobbies of de-
partment heads lead them into ex-
travagant notions? Why is it that
Congress is as wild as March mare?
1t is rather like child who keeps
nagging at mother, "If l can't have
it now 1 don't want it at ALL"
Seeminglyly it makes no difference
TO the former Secretary how much
the farmer and the manufacturer
needs his machinery, how impossible
it is to buy supply of machinery at
present prices, if at all, because the
Government is keeping the furnaces
hot to supply the American Navy.
He cannot proceed along conserva-
tive business, lines. He cannot see
that the risk of war at the present
time is negligible, but as soon as the
war is over proceeds to involve the
whole of the industrial world for a
frcnzied campaign of naval construc-
tion.
The former Secretary is not con-
cerned over the fact that we are fac
ing war-debt deficit of $4,000. 000,-
900. that peace-time bonds must be
sold at sacrifice, or some other