Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-01-13

81.
ship in that League will in no wise de-
crease our existing intolerable waste
Of treasure and of natural resources
i'm coal and oil for fleet which today
constitutes the greatest menance TO
our friendly relations with Japan and
Great Britain. Let no one deny this
fact. The threat of the American fleet
to England has been the theme OF vio-
| lent daily discussion in the English
press for the last ten days and also n
Parliamentary circles. The British
cabinet, it is authoritatively stated.
will plan its building program ac-
cording to ours. At present it is bull
ding only six destroyers to our sixty
one.
Historically, England has for three
decades past held that her fleet must
equal the joint fleets of the two near
est rival powers. As long as the pres
ent forces control her public life her
policy of tne greatest navy in the
world will prevail despite thefact that
England, too, is in perilious finan-
cial position and that no one knows
what kind of workable budget Lloyd
George will be able to produce IN
March next. A race between the Uni
ted States and Great Britain as to
which shall have the greatest navy on
the globe can only nave one outcome
war between the two countries, pre-
cisely as the naval rivalry between
Germany and Great Britain would
have led to war even if Austria had
not attacked Serbia. Lord Fisher Of
ficially urged in peace time an attack
upon the German fleet without warn
ing and without declaration of war.
Some future Lord Fisher or some flu
lure AIl6IlCItl dQill1l al WILL SAoSNSoSS
similar move on New York or Lon
don. AS for Japan, Viscount ls.lllSs
solemn statement at Geneva that 1T IS
useles to ask Japan to reduce her mil
itary or naval forces while the United
States increases hers, tells the story.
Almost daily the cables report the use
the Japanese jingoes are making OF
the threat of our fleet to little Japan.
There are, of course, other notes.
Thus the friendly Osaka Mainichi
Shimbun urges the abolition of the
fleets of both countries and the appli-
cation of President Monroe's Cana
dian policy of both nations, the Uni
ted States and Japan.
Fortunately, the sound sober sense
of America is beginning to manifest
itself. Every thinking man knows that
in keeping up fleet we are preparing
to fight Japan and Great Britain, for
there are no other warships left in the
world-France's navy need not be
considered. Major-General Bliss sees
the first step must be taken by CIV
ing up our army. Senator Walsh
wants US to confer on disarmament
with the League of Nations. Senator
Borah urges that practical steps of an
immediate conference between the
three naval rivals for vacation in
warship building-we wish we had
dared to come out for a complete
scrapping of all fleets. In Congress
there is a growing determination to
cut the army estimates to pieces. Con-
gresham Mondell, the Republican
leader, is naturally outraged that two
years after the war to end war Con-
gress is asked by Secretary Baker, an
erstwhile member of the League to
Limit Armaments, to grant to the
War Department $615,000,000 in ex-
ces of existing appropriations for the
coming fiscal year. Mr.. Mondell not
only proposes to reject this demand
for more money; he intends to give
Secretary Baker S2O0,000,000 less
than he got for the current fiscai
year. Mr. Bakers standing with
Congress is not improved by the fact
that he, as Mr.. Mondell puts it, is so
contemptuos of Congress that he mas
beens pending money not authorized
by Congress; that he is about to ask
! for a deficiency appropriation for
1920-1921, estimates as to which
range from $60,0OO,0O0 to $4,000, 1000.
Senator McCumber declares that by
June the Treasury's deficit will not
be less than two billions of dollars and
that there will be no money for sin
gle new project. Appropriations, ne
warned must be cut to the bone.