Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-02-26
6be SPIRIT
0fAMERICA
D A I L Y
EDITORIAL
DIGEST
Today's Subject:
BIG SHIPS, LITTLE SHIPS,
OR NO SHIPS At ALL

BlG SHIPS, LITTLE SHIPS,
| OR NO SHIPS At ALI
While the Senate Committees re-
port in favor Of big navy" has
turned the thoughts of some Of the
editorial writer's away from immediate
plans for disarmament the majority
Of newspapers seem to feel that there
is more merit in supporting the Borah
plan for holiday" than accepting
| The New York World (Dem.) main
sistently taken and which is followed
lowing statement from it's columns is
quoted and endorsed by the New Ha-
ven Journal Courier (Ind.). Says the
| World
There is not a word Of generous
or enlightened impulse in the commit
tees report. 1t has seized upon the
jargon of German Imperialism that
has been blown into fragments and has
endeavored to fashion that jargon into
an American policy. For Deutschland
uber Allies it has substituted Amer
ika ubcr allies and presented this pinch
beck kaiserism as a definition of Am
erican doctrine at time when the
economic back Of the world is break
ing under the burden of needless mil
itary expenditure"
Not only the spirit Of the Naval
Affairs Committee is attacked by the
New York Globe Ind but it's 'logic"
as well. They were asked. the Globe
declares, Are airplanes or battleships
more effective" and they replied, IF
airplanes are held off by other air
planes the hattleship will be very eff
fective." When armament races"
which the Globe asserts the Committee
is promoting. must be promoted by
logic like this, no wonder the nation
wants disarmament" This Expensive.
provocative and unnecessary policy" it
concludes, could never get the sane
ton Of popular vote" A similar view
is expressed by the Brooklyn Eagle
(Ind. Dem.) which remarks that ''if
economy is considered the logic of
the Borah resolution is distinctly
In other respects also "the report is
in obvious error" while the resolution,
without expecting the impossible sim
ply asks to determine whether navies
cannot be reduced instead of expanded
indefinitely at huge cost to the tax
payers OF all the proposals, the
Borah plan "alone is practicable and
sensible" the Reno Gazette (Rep.) be-
lieves, although its supporters have
been "skillfully divided by "the Naval
clique, backed by interests that desire
America to be a bullying. belligerent
nation" The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Ind. DEM feels that there should
be no question as to Americas readi-
ness to agree to any reasonable terms
looking to naval holiday"
The New York Post (Ind) considers
the Senate Committees utterance a
lingo policy" which fortunately" does
mot represent the sentiment of the
country" and the Philadelphia Record
Ind. DEM calls it "a reputation of
the nations profession of peaceful
policy" and scores the inconsistency of
a Congress that would ''avow militar-
ism on the Sea and reduce our means
of defense on land. With this senti-
ment the Petersburg (Va.) Index APP
peal (Ind.) is in perfect accord.
The best way, in the opinion of the
Chicago Tribune lind. Rep) ito pro-
coed in naval construction just now,
is to stop it,, and while the st. Louis
Globe Democrat (Rep.) suggests that
WOuAu pAODOUiS bC pooI pOllCy 10
suspend naval construction already
it sees mo necessity for
starting new work until conditions
under which future building is to con-
tinue, "are made clear"
Many who express no sentiment |
whatever in favor of reducing our sea |
forces quarrel with Senator's state
ment of their case. The New York |
Tribune (Rep.), for instance, finds
hat the document reveals the Chaotic
state Of mind" of its authors and
With contradicting the proposition that
he capital ship is the backbone of
he fleet, declares that there must be
arms, legs, eyes and brains" as well.
The New York Times (Ind. DENY
inds the same flaw. It says:
If the people do not protest against
he General Board policy Of more.
more and more construction and the
endency in Congress to neglect devel-
'pment of the new auxiliaries it will
'e idle to expect movement to re-
uce ornaments or have faith in the
ailing Of = conferences for that pur-
ose."