The Washington herald., 1921-01-28
Ayers Naval Experts Op-
pose Building Capital
Ships at Present.
FAVORS HEARINGS Z
@s DURING HOLIDAY
Disarmament Leader Say
People Will Elect Con-
gress to Stop Building.

Senator William Z. Borah, of Idaho,
yesterday told the Senate, is only a
struggle between the people of the
world and the militarists and arma-
ment builders for the ear of their
He warned the Senate
in a speech discussing his resolution
providing for a siN-months delay in
naval construction by the United
States, that the people of this coun-
try, Japan and Great Britain were
eager to stop competitive building
and that If this Congress did not
take some action looking to dis
armament the voters would elect
Congress sthat would do so, even to
the extent of slashing the appro-
priations for the work already au-
thorized.
Senator Borah in the course OF his
address read into the record a mass
of data and opinion from abroad
favoring both disarmament and re-
vision of existing naval programs.
He showed by his quotations that
eminent naval authorities in Eng
land considered the day of capital
ships had passed and urged the
Senate to determine whether the
Navy Department was going ahead
with a program that would only be
obsolete at the end of four years.
Declares Exports MuEnIed.
Senator Bor4h said that men high
in the naval service fthe United
States were opposed to capital ship
construction but that they were not
permitted TO express their views un-
less summoned before Congress. He
asked thatSthe policy of the Navy
Department be changed so that ex-
perts in naval matters might be
able to give uncontrolled" express
siop to their views on the subject.
Some time ago" said Senator
Borahr Il offered a resolution for an
understanding among the great pow
ers to reduce their naval building
programs. 1t seems to be the poin-
ion of some authorities that that
ought to be delayed but If it is to be
delayed it is extremely important to
know something of our naval build
ing program in the meanwhile. It
is now Contended that what is
known as a capital ship will become
practically useless and have a keen
interest to know the ultimate judg-
ment on the subject of our own
naval experts. We are engaged in
a program to build sixteen capital
ships at cost of approximately
$40,000,00O each and it would be a
business blunder to Complete them.
No Longer of Service.
Information on the subject is
very meager. There are men in the
navy who believe that capital ships
are no longer serviceable in naval
warfare, but they do not feel free
to volunteer that information unless
called on to testify.
III there is any way to release
members of the-navy to obtain an
expression of their real thought on
this question l would like to have
it done. The men in the service
think that the big battleships we
V.
II we could have the same freedom
of discussion as naval officers do in
England we would be able to arrive
at a sane conclusion. We must have
the uncontrolled opinion of men
who have made a life study Of the
matter in order to get real insight
into 1t.
We have initiated a building
program to cose some $64O,OOO,OO0
What I have in mind is that we
should know before we continue
this vast expenditure of money that
we will have an efficient and ade-
quate navy when We complete IL
I don't want to have this govern
ment build these ships and IN 1925
have them obsolete. 1 do not hold
that we should weaken our navy
without some sort of an under
standing but we should know what
we are doing in any event. II the
report that the Senate gets as the
result of my present resolution
shows that we should have an in
vestigation of the feasible method
to follow I shall be glad to intro
duce such a resolution The possi-
bility that we may soon ATTEMPT to
reach an understanding with Great
Britain and Japan on this subject
would make us fortunate if we pos
sessed this information.
Short on Submarines.
THE statement has been made
that we have not single up-to-
date submarine. One submarine
costs about $1,O0O,OOO. We could
take the money that we spend for
two battleships and have forty sub
Marines better defense, in INV
opinion, than eight or ten, battle
ships.
Il haven't a doubt in the world
that an agreement can be reached
on disarmament IL the people can be
heard. OF course the army, navy
and armament trust may be strong
enough to prevent the people from
being heard, but it is time that the
people of Japan and this country
are equally anxious to abandon
building, and SO are the
people of England. Good will come
from the effort, even il il does not
succeed.
believe in a strong navy but
not in a toy that will be useless to
US. If we can build more economi-
calIy we certainly should.
"There are two classes of oppo-
nents othis resolution. Those who
actually oppose disarmament and
those who give disarmament lip
service but who oppose all sorts of
delay and they are the ones that
will have to answer to the people"