New-York tribune., 1921-03-18
Britain to Begin
Four Capital
Ships il, Year
Commons Passes Budget
Providing f01,18Oy 300
for Navy; To Maintain
One Power Standard
Strict Economy Promised
Lady Astor Deprecates Suspi-
ciOn as to Intentions of
u. s.; War snconceivable

LONDON, March II (By The Asso-
ciated Press).- The House Of Commons
tonight passed the naval estimates for
1921-'22. The estimates amount to e91,-
18o,8o9 gross and ss2 2.479,o00 net.
Four capital warships of the Hood
class will be laid down within a year,
Sir James Craig, Parliamentary and
Financial Secretary to the Admiralty,
told the House of Commons in intro
ducing the estimates.
la Tribune special cable from Lon
don March 16 forecast that the British
naval building program would call for
four giant battleships, costing $4,000
600 each, to be finished within four
years. Each would carry, the dispatch
said, ten 15-inch guns. or two more
than the Hood, and would have speed
exceeding that of the Hood. The Hood,
which is the last world in dread
noughts, has q displacement of Al 200
tons.
The Secretary emphasized the econo-
mics effected, which, he said, was not a
matter for the Admiralty, but policy
which the government had deliberately
adopted. Lord Lee, First Lord of the
Admiralty, in his speech of yesterday,
had done his utmost. the Secretary de-
clared, not exactly to hold out the olive
branch to America, but at all events to
show that "in our policy we are re-
tanning ourselves entirely to the main
tenance Of the one-power standard, and
that standard a highly efficient one.
such as would maintain the old tradi-
tions of the British navy"
Economy in Fuel Sought
In order to effect further economies,
said Sir James, arrangements have
been made to restrict to the greatest
possible extent consistent with eff
ciency< the steaming of the various
squadrons, and, if political conditions
did not make such calls upon the navy
as to prevent this, it was intended to
reduce fuel allowances to q degree
which would enable the Admiralty to
show saving of 100000.
Referring to the closing of the dock
yards at Pembroke and Paul Bowline
he said the decision had been taken
the primary position. This would last
year. Provision had been made 70,
war liabilities-the settlement of con-
tracts for guns and ships and the ma
terial in hand at the signing of the
armistice. The Osborn Cadet School
also would be closed and the naval
staff reduced to enghty-six members
The only increase, in fact, was for tho
scientific department.
Besides replacing four obsolesceni
vessels with new capital ships of the
Hood class, embodying all the lessons
of the war, the Admiralty proposed to
build a submarine mine layer com
bining all the latest developments The
views of the naval staff regarding the
Importance of capital ships as the unit
of sea power remained unchanged.
| If the House of Commons authorized
a vote of 42,50O,o00 for the new ships
said the Secretary, all four would be
laid down in the next twelve months
but it would be impossible to get very
| far forward with them until late in
the fall and there could not be any
supplementary estimates.
! Aircraft Menace Submarines
Aircraft, he asserted, were much
more dangerous to the submarine than
to the battleship. For instance, al
though the Allies had five days in
which to bomb the German cruiser
! Goeben when she struck a mine at
Gallipoli they only managed to hit her
twice.
The naval debate was continued by
Mr.. Asquith, who, declaring there was
not the faintest apprehension that the
American naval policy would ever be