New Ulm review., 1921-02-09
The | HE BAT A | | | TL,|E o
The | II BIG I|'.]l. ]. SHIPS II ! } 5
PONDERoUS FLOATING. WAR
IMPLEMENTS OBSOLETE,
III SAYS EXPERT.
AND SUBMARINES
HAVE sCRAPPED ARMoR-
CLAD MONSTERS.

~ Ss4s YYildI is Inc use OF "a DaJJleSn1p!
She must be of some use or the United
States and Japan would not be building
ibattleships.." This question Of Sir
Percy Scott, one Of England's leading
naval authorities, has just been fatty
answered BY Briga der General William
Mitchell, assistant chief Of the air
service of the United States Army.
He; declares that despite naval pre-
|judice to the contrary, the. armored
ship; is now just as helpless as the
armored knight was when the firearm
was brought against him General
Mitchell may be no naval expert, as
the navy men retort, but he does know
something about flying. The develop
ment, ,of, the torpedo and the aeroplane,
especially with the new possibilities Of
radio control, has made openminded
experts wonder what is to become Of
the surface ship. " X Y 3%... ss Ess q. 81 " NJ
British Suspend Oper rations.
& As a result of spirited discussion
during recent months, the British have
suspended all building Of capital ships
until the Admiralty can report on the
whole Question: Our own Navy, how
ever, goes blissfully forward building
u battleships and cruisers, to cost
we'll up toward three quarters; IF "a
billion dollars, No living soul knows
whether they will really be of any use
when they are done, but our admirals
insist that we press on with the pro-
gram. ,.:5, IS S 3,
Trying to Get Bearings. s
f.. To meet this situation Senator
Borah last week got unanimous con ii
semitic resolution asking the Senate
Committee on Naval Affairs to REPORT
whether it be wise to suspend the build
ing program for six months in order
to decide what constitutes a modern ,dln
fighting navy. - Congressman Muir
ply OF Ohio has introduced a similar
resolution in the House. This proposal
is met with loud charges that it is
British propaganda to halt our = naval
advance. As a matter of fact, it is
plain business commonsense, and only
the big-navy men, the armament
ma kers, and the ultra-c conservative
naval board have reasons to oppose
it. Their combined opposition, how
ever, is formidable.
- 10 D;o ~, /. - Nn.
Indirectly the controversy connects
itself with, the disarmament fight,
which RACES under cover. Senator
lBEorah's resolution for naval holi-
day" is. being fought with !, the ex-
pected tactics of delay and under
ground opposition. If the measure
could be brought to vote, it would
pass without question. Faced BY the
possibility of indefinite delay, the Ida
ho Senator makes a blank attack, de-
signed to secure action Of some kind.
Dark Powers at Work.
The real situation in Washington is
becoming increasingly clear. A power
full combination off business and naval
interests; is determined to create an in
comparable :oen1 navy. Whatever stands
ii the way is to be brushed aside. The
Army and Navy Journal frankly
points out the ideas Of this group:
Throw overheard the notion Of "a
Navy for defense, pure and simple
and remember that an adequate Navy
is only that Navy which can cope
with any situation successfully and he
ready to win. decisiyely d battle 1000
miles Al from Pa cific coast base. It
is. useless to argue with such group on
the uses Of e battleship. The sole
question is, have they the. votes? II
50, we shall have more battleships, un-
less the groaning taxpayer speaks in
far louder tones than have yet been
heard here.