Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
Our Navy as a Menace to Britain.

Our most dangerous rivals at sea-"
declares the London Saturday Re-
view (Tory), ARE the United States
and Japan. Both are building cap
Iital ships, it is said. Now it is
barely conceivable that America and
Japan will ever be allies in the
Pacific; the contrary is. more prob
able. On the other hand, Britain's
Pacific interests are SO distributed
that, in the unfortunate event of war
there, an alliance with America or
Japan is almost certain Again, with
needs so great on her long western
coast line, America cannot afford to
board, though equally extended and
vulnerable. Capital ships will cost
America twice as much to build and
equip as ours do. Even if she had
the ships she could not man them
The great shipbullding was Americas
principal war failure. For purposes
of propaganda it was a success. but
for producing seaworthy ships 1t was
Ia complete failure and costly one.
too. The manning of the feet was
building rival than before the war.
She can neither build ships nor run
them successfully. These facts should
influence US in viewing the United
States Navy as menace.
The Review then goes on to speak OF
Japan, admitting that the Japanese can
both build ships and man them, but say
ing that the japanese are imitators, ana
lacking in invention. which is the prime
requisite for success in modern war 4
preparation. 1t concludes that Japan
would be better as a partner than as the
player of a lone hand"
A rival weekly. the New Statesman,
which is classified as belonging to the
intellectual labor group, makes a more
elaborate analysis of the naval SITUATION
1t speaks apropos of the controversy
now raging as to the relative merits OF
capital and auxiliary" ships. sub
marines. destroyers. light cruisers. ETC..
a controversy that is being waged with
considerable heat in England
The New Statesman justly points out
that in order to frame naval pro-
gram there must be a hypothesis as to I
pared against. and specifically OF the
power or powers with which such war
is regarded as possible. The German
navy Is out Of the question and there
is no other European state which couia
ever dream Of challensing Great Britain
are America and Japan. Japan is too
remote to be regarded as dangerous, and
in any case her powers OF construction |
al competition are not consideraoie-!
though In discipline ana SeaHanSnlps
her navy is, after the British, probably .
the most efficient afoat" So it must !
be granted that the problem OF naval
construction today is simply and exclu-
sively a problem Of preparation for a
war against America"
The New Statesman is utterly in
credulous'' as to the likelihood of such |
a war, but assuming the incredible !
it notes that America Is
building battleships, destroyers and sub
marines as fast as she can. while /
Britain is building no battleships and
few smaller craft. Thus in a few years
America would have the bigger navy
on paper But "it is probable, OF course.
that she can no more compete with
Great Britain in the ali-important mat
tiers Of seamanship and manning than
she can in shipbuilding. These things
take generations. and we imagine tnat
any British naval commander would
cheerfuIly face a 30 per cent material
superiority Of American warships
German Disarmament Problems.
Forced by the treaty to reduce the
numbers of her electives. Germany
is striving, according to an article
in the Paris political weekly, opinion,
to bring the efficiency of the individ-
ual soldier and of the military unit
up to a maximum. The Opinion says:
while. under cover of innumerabie
and institutions, Ger-4