The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-04-09

sign can be changed. reducing their dis
placements TO $4,000 tons and giving
them the necessary characteristics for
Il aircraft carriers. This tdn be done a
. saving Of SlO.o00.000 per ship and
unless Congress provides the necessary
funds 10 make this change. not only Will
this money be lost on the scrap heap,
but $40. 900. 900 more will have TO be APP
propriated In the near future for two
entirely new ships.
The necessity for a proper appropria-
tion for fuel must be recognized.
year ago Kelley. Madden and others
contested the proper appropriation so
hotly that. despite the warnings Of the
Navy Department. Senator PoindeSter
and others. 1t was not passed and an
appropriat ton which scarcely covered the
necessary harbor movements was sub
stituted That is why the fleet is tied
up at present and why It will be tied
up next year unless the necessary funds
are provided.
While ii is possible to drill men with
out sending ships 10 sea. II IS not pos
sible to train the fleet to fight. The
ships must be drilled. they must hold
target practise and they must be ready
for any incidental duties which may
pop up at inopportune moments. as they
always do. The possibility of war is
the shadow which ovcrclouds the whole
question.
There is another vastly important
phase of maintaining our ratio. One OF
the most perplexing problems OF the
Arms Conference was that of basing
facilities and Notifications. After
quite an argument with Japan. Amer
lea was forced 10 agree to status quo
in the Philippines. Guam. Samoa. the
Al ~. al t.iy - he
Hawaiian group. with the single excep-
ton or Pearl Harbor. Therefore It will
be impossible for NJ to build up our ia
clities i'm the prescribed areas and con-
versely we must build them up In the
unrestricted ones.
Need OF Basing Facilities.
We never have had adequate basing
facilities in the Hawaiians Guam, the
Philippines or any of the other strategi-
cal outposts of the Pacific. Not only
this but our continental bases have al
ways been far below the strength re-
quired for the existing Pacific fleet.
which Is to be enlarged under the terms
of the Naval Treaty. Politics served TO
hold back the navy at the Mare Island
yard at San Francisco, instead OF al
lowing 1t to take the more desirable
base at Alameda. But, be that as IT
may the facilities for the docking and
repair of the fleet are Tar IRON Inc
best at San Francisco. The only otner
base we have on the i'aciic seahGard
is at Bremerton. Wash. This base IS
in far worse condition thaa :hc one at
Mare Island. The story of the inetii-
cheney of Pearl Harbor. Hawaii. our
greatest Pacific operating base. has
been told so many times that II does
not need repetition here.
Year after wear Congress has con-
sistently refused funds for the building
up Of these stations. Now the situation
demands that they be built up at once,
a. all OF our other facilities in the Pa
ciic are limited by international agree
ment.
The army enters into this phase for
these basing facilities must be protected.
The ridiculous state OF nir coast de-
fenses In the Pacific is due solely TO the
attitude Of Congress. The Philippines
are practically defenseless, as are the
rest OF our island possessions. And the
mainland is in little better shape.
The Panama Canal is no source or
strength to the United States. II has
been allowed TO become our heel OF
Achilles. When President Harding was
in Panama. shortly before taking office.
he found the defenses entirely made
quate There was only one old l6-nch
gun there. and that single gun was al
the Atlantic entrance to the canal. To
the best of my knowledge these condi-
tions have not been remedied. Congress
having refused the funds.