The Washington herald., 1921-12-26
OF US.
ARE HIT HARDEST.
SAYS GEN. REILLY
Asserts America Must
Act to Keep Its In
dustry Alive.
By GEN. HENRY ]. REILLY.

An important outcome of the
agreements likely TO be reached nv
the conference, and one which has
heretofore received too little con-
sideration in this country is the
detertoratfon of the shfpbufIdInr
industry. Already in America there
is an overproduction of merchant
ships, compared with the demands
for bottoms flying the American
flag.
Our yards have practically
ceased to build anything but naval
vessels: and II work on these is
stopped the yards must be closeo.
and their designing force and arti-
sans Will have to find employment
in other lines OF endeavor. A cessa-
ton of such work for ten years will
make 1t difficult to begin again with
reasonable degree of efficiency.
During, the coming naval holiday 1t
appears very desirable to keep at
least some of our shipyards going
by the construction Of merchant
tonnage. II necessary. through gov
eminent aid of the industry.
British Had Fears.
One Of the first British objections
to Mr.. Hughes proposals was thai
their shipyards would suffer very
greatly.
They made an alternative sug-
gestion that continuous work be
permitted upon at least one capital
ship. If Britain had reason to fear
the consequences to industrial mob
bilization on this score, we shouiu
have very much more reason for
concern. Today she is building ac-
lively a large number of merchant
ships, and her ability to turn them
out cheaper than can be done IN
this country promises to insure
merchant ship work for her yards
for many years to come. The Brit
ish point of view was that more
skilful mechanics are required on
batttleships than on commercial
steamers, and that even the steady
building of merchant ships would
not insure a proper nucleus OF arti-
sans for producing battleships in
the future. Now that the supple
mental agreement permits Britain
two new Hoods during the general
holiday, we hear no more COM
plants from them regarding indus
trial mobilization.
Other Nations Better on.
The revised plan which gave us
the Colorado and Washington to
balance the Japanese Mutsu, In
volved the scrapping of our older
ships, and thus advanced the date
when we can undertake any new
capital ship construction. Since we
cannot build merchant ships on a
large scale. in competition with
Britain or Japan. normally, We will
be denied even that source upon
which to draw for artisans when the
time for resumption of battleship
construction arrives. France en-
deavored to solve the same difflculty
for herself by proposing An allow
ance of ten dreadnaughts to be con-
structed through a period OF the
next twenty years. From this she
has consented to recede, but appa-
rently only on condition that>she is
to be allowed a large ratio of
cruisers. submarines and other
smaller craft. Probably the Italian
ratio will be fixed along the same
general lines as that for France.
Hence all the five great nations will
be better off than ourselves in this
industrial mobilization aspect of the
naval holiday.
Ameriea's Only Loophele.
The proposed agreement provides
against the laying down of any re-
placement tonnage in capital ships
for ten years. The only lsophole for
US would be in the building of large
airplane carriers up to our pre-
scribed aggregate allowance of So
900 tons. In some respects this type
Is similar to a battleship. though
necessarily heavy armor and turrets
and large guns would have to be
omitted from their design. 1t has
been suggested that for the sake OF
economy we convert two Of the hat
tie cruiSers, now about 25 per bent
complete. into aeroplane carriers In
stead Of scrapping them altogether
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