Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-02-23
AGAINST LEAD in
HOLIDAY BEING
ASSUMED BY u. S.
Washington Officials
Summed Up After
Inquiry
BY H. B. HUNT

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.-The
United States will not take the lead
in naval disarmament, expecting
other nations to follow a good exam
pie and do likewise.
Neither will it agree to naval
holiday in lieu of a general agree
ment on disarmament or restriction
of armaments.
This nation will 20 along with
other great nations in an agreement
to end the competitive piling up of
ornaments. 1t will accept the ut
most limitation that can be agreed
upon. Provided
That under any agreement limiting
armament the United States shall
rank second to none in the naval
strength that is left to her.
That decision, reached by the lead
ers Of the naval committees of both
house and senate and known to be in
accord with the views of President
elect Harding, furnishes the keynote
to the incoming administrations
naval and foreign policies.
There is a general sympathy in
Congress with the proposals for a
limitation of ornaments. The de
STABILITY of reducing naval expendi-
lures is emphasized by the increasing
difficulty of raising taxes to meet
heavy governmental obligations. Also,
there is an ever-increasing insistence
in letters from the folks back home"
that something be done to relieve the
tax burden.
Naval Conclusions
Congressional leaders, however, af-
ter serious study of the whole disarm-
ament proposition have concluded:
First: That the most effective way
to promote an agreement limiting
armaments is for the United States
to go ahead on her scheduled build.
ing program, which, if continued, will
give her the most powerful feet Of
capital ships in the world by 1924.
Second: That under an agreement
limiting naval forces the United
States must have, relatively, the same
position which her present naval
program assures to her-a force at
least equal to that of any other
nation.
Whatever the decision of President
Harding may be with respect to call
ing an international conference on
disarmament or limitation of arma-
ments, congressional leaders believe
the position of the United States will
be strengthened if, prior to the call
ing of any such conference, it is made
plain that in the absence of world
agreement restricting the size of ma
vies, this nation intends to possess
for its own defense, a force second to
that of no other country.
United States Power
Despite the cost of the war to this
country and the pressure of taxes,
the United States today stands as the
richest nation in the world and the
best able-if the world insists on
competitive armaments-to carry
forward a program of heavy naval
expansion and development.
That fact, coupled with the assur-
ance that we mean to do so unless
an international agreement limiting
navies is agreed to, would, it is held,
be the most effective argument to-
ward bringing all countries into the
international conference.
The testimony that decided house
and senate leaders as to the wisdom
of this course has not been made
public. 1t was given in executive ses-
sion and has been carefully kept
secret.
But evidence submitted at these
secret hearings has touched some
of the causes underlying the cam
paign for an abandonment of our
present building program To con
siderable extent this has been devel-
oped by persons who sincerely be-
lieve the day of the heavily armored
big gun battleship has passed and
that if Uncle Sam is going ahead on
naval development the development
should be along other lines than that
now under way.
However, underlying all the oppo-
sitioR to the continuation Of our
present naval program is declared to