Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-11-22
DETAILS OF
NAVAL PLAN :.
NOT SETTLED
British and Jap Diplomats
Carefully Going Over Pro
posals of Americans.

SOSA1ISN ACoSJ eAPcIIS VI IIic
three major powers still were review
ing today the highly technical ques-
tions that have arisen in connection
with the American proposals for inn
mediate reduction of the fleets and a
ten year naval building holiday. The
British and Japanese officers appear
to have found some detail s of the plan
which will require treatment before
there is a final acceptance.
For one thing, the British have
pointed out the effect on the fleets
the American program would have if
the full measure of Secretary Hughes
plan were carried into execution. The
plan proposes absolute cessation Of
building for ten years; the fixing Of
the life of Il battleship at twenty
years., replacement building to begin
II years after the ship to be replaced
was competed, this allowing three
ship.
Japs Figure Eight Years.
The twenty year life rule alone is a
novel one for other navies. Japan
now uses eight years as the life of
capital ships. beginning replacement
within u.at period after vessel is
constructed. She has not as yet
worked out this, eight year cycle, how
evera Sexpecting with her present
/ SpAAAA6 RlO6A 0Af " cLSIoAA ~ IA 4OHO.
Great Britain has no replacement
schedule at present. For two years
! prior to 1.-The war SHE laid five ne#
battleahipS a year and for years pre-
y VioNsly; four a year. This program
I; is what maintained her "two power
standard, now abandoned. It did
not contemp ate a twenty year active
life for the ships. Applying the pro-
posed American replacement rule to
hn n h,, rnf 1n1 1N1pn ooh ,oyry-
er under the same program, Great
Britain would have in 1881 at the end
! Of the ten year naval holiday when
she might begin replacement building
four battleships that dated back TWEEN.
ty-two years to the time their keels
were laid, four going back Fl years
and four 20 years. Her newest bat.
tleships. the royal sovereign group o.
five, were laid down in 1914 and com.
pleted in 1916 under war pressure
They would be Is years from date o.
completion and two years from~ thu
beginning of replacement vessels wher
the holiday ended.
British Situation.
One of the four British battle
cruisers to be retained, the Tiger
was laid down in 1911. She woult
be ready for replacement also il
1881. The other three. the, Hood, Re
. hO"h tlAIu lSOpulSC, NSAC VOL poAA
) and designed for action in the Nortl
sea. Their value except for the spe
cial purposes they We're built to serv
!. in the war, the prevention of Germa.
raiders from shooting up the coas
of England. is >problematical.
4 Applying the twenty year life rul
& and the holiday decade to ship
America proposes to keep eight of tn
1S would be 20 years or more fror
ha la oi,rL nlo Lot tn
: two of them, the Delaware and Mort
Dakota, would be a year passed the
allotted twenty year span before re
3 placement building could begin. The
. would be twenty-four years old frol
3 completion before the ships to RI
place them were commissioned. Th
1 newest American ships, the Mar,
:. land, California, Tennessee Idah
j and Mississippi however, would sti
4 life left in them when theS holida
d ended.
8 In the, same way in the Japane,
q retained fleet, the oldest Japahes
8 battleship, the Settsu, was laid dow
I in 1911. She would have but thrs
years Of active life when the sholida
ended. -Four other of her six battl'
. ships the Fuse, Yamashiro, Ise ar
Higua, would have from four to fi1
1
as worn out and replaced. The N
cato alone would have decade
9 more Of serviceAble life left and II
: four battle cruisers. the Kirishim
y F1aruna, HisYei and Kongo, all
would have only four or five yea
before they would be dropped fro
the lists and replaced.
o.. S. I'm Best Condition.
i Viewed in this way, there is son
n lsrAQanr n, II holfovp that hnfh the Rritif
and Japanese experts think the Uni
!. ed States would come to the end
"a the holiday period in far better shal
= than either Of the other two power
That appears to be the basis of IL
i. discussions now proceeding and pc
. haps OF the Japanese desire to reta
some of the newer ships, scheiu.,
for the scrap heap by the Americ,
N plan,i rather than destroy them.
4. each navy, as seems likely. felt it ne
< essary to take immediate advantage
al the resumption OF capital shipbuil
d ing in 1881, IT. Is suggested, enormo
projects would have to be launch'
in that year. 8s 81 III
N The situation apparently won
= weigh more heavily on Japan tn,
r on Great Britain because under Il
q '5-5-s ratio" of Secretary Hughs
e plan already accepted by the Births
,f the British would have to provide I
a 90 per cent reduction Of their fle
by. 1881 when the ratio would app
Japan wou' d not face any such T
tduction, however. and must get
work promptly on new ships II sl
u was TO maintain even the propos
X "5-5-3" ratio. u ~
May Havc Had Other Plans.
It seems -possibie that Secrets
,ss fCsonff,,,iesi on IA pe i al