Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-03
FINISH BIG SHIPS,
NAWBOARD URGES
Warns Against Proposed Sus-
pension of Buiiding-Major
Craft Basis of Sea Power
NEW DEVICES ONLY HOPES
BY the Associated Press

Washington, Feb. 3.-The major ship
remains the basis OF seapower and those
who argue that the airplane and the
submarine have supplanted It are ask
ing the country to "accept hopes for
ccomplishments," the navy general
board says in a report to Secretary
Daniels.
''The general board, having kept in
touch with naval progress along all
lines" says the report, "reiterates Its
belief in the battleships as forming the
principal units Of the Aeet. Without
them the United States cannot hope to
cope with existing navies."
Urging that Equality IN power be
the continuing naval policy Of the
United States" the board says there
Ia "no thought of instituting interna-
tional competitive building" and that
mo other nation can in reason take ex :
ccption to such position"
Call for Armament Equality
"It cannot justly be construed as q
challenge" the report continues. "a
policy of equal or substantially equal
armaments may well tend TO diminish
their growth and to lessen the danger
Of sudden war;"
The report, signed by Rear Admiral
Charles J. Badger, president. and
former commander in chief of the At
lantic feet, was approved by Secretary
Daniels and was transmitted by him to
the Senate naval affairs committee for
its information in considering pending
disarmament and naval holiday
resolutions.
Asserting that the guiding policy that
had shaped the general boards con-
was that of eventually creating a navy
equal to the strongest in the world, the
board urges that ''no rest period or
limitation of armament" be agreed to
by the United States that would modify
the great naval building program OF
1916, now under construction, In mum
bers, general types or dates Of com =
pletion."
I'm the future, as at all times pre-
vious to the world war. we shall, in oil
probability, have to rely solely upon our
own state of preparedness, was note
of warning the document sounded.
Would Develop Now Weapons
The ships authorized in the 1916 pro
gram are thoroughly modern ~ report
says, adding that there IL no reason to
believe that developments in submarine
or aerial warfare will seriously detract
from their value for many years To
come.
The work of completing the program,
thn rpnnrf continued ghnuII hnu
ever, deter the navy from developing
to the utmost new or partially developed
weapons such as submarines, arcraf,
and aircraft carriers and making such
additions to the feet as will insure the
successful development and use of sub
marine surface, surface and aeria
methods of warfare to the best possible
advantage should the need ever arise.
A suspension of work on the nava
building program for six months to al.
low experts to determine, in the light
of the lessons of the World War, what
types Of ships are most useful, as pro
vided in the pending Borah resolution
lis neither necessary nor advisable, .
tho board asserts.
Every new weapon Of offense that ha,
threatened the supremacy of the capitn
ship has been met by a successful mod
of defense, the report declares.
Concluding with q strong argumen
for equality with the strongest" a
the nations permanent naval policy
the boards report asserted that such ,
policy was directed against no natio,
or group of nations, and was dictate
on grounds of national safety. Point
ing to the great growth of the Amcri
can merchant marine the report en-
phasizes that no nation had ever bee
able TO establish and maintain a larp
merchant fleet without developing
navy TO assist and protect it.