The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1922-04-21
FIGHT over
: naval BILL
Revolt Against Committee on
Appropriations Indicated in
Minority Report.
PERSONNEL CUT RESENTED
Drive Launched for $4,000 Enlisted
Men at Very Minimum-Say Meas
ure Would Reduce United States
to Third-Rate Power.

WaShingtOn.-A ong-threatened re-
volt in the house against the Appro-
priations Committee is about to break
down it's report on the naval appro-
priation bill. President Harding, Sec
retary DENLY and others of great In
iuence in and out of Congress con-
denim the personnel program for the
navy. In addition there exists deep
seated antipathy among members or
the naval affairs and other legislative
committees that were stripped of con-
troll of the nations funds when their
powers were centered in the Appro-
priations Committee.
The proposal of the House Appro-
priations Committee for navy in
1923 of 67,006 men and 6,356 officers
was vigorously attacked in minority
report signed by five Republicans and
one Democrat, and in statements is
sued by Representatives Britten of
Illinois and Macarthur, Oregon, men,
bers of the House Naval Committee.
n
the United States to the extent recon-
mended by the committee would ignore
"the basic naval policy" set down by
the Arms Conference, the minority re-
port declared, asserting that an en-
listed personnel of $4,000, with 5000
apprentices, would be necessary to
keep the United States abreast with
Great Britain and ahead of Japan.
Representative Britten said, if the
bill chad been framed by British and
japanese delegates" with the Intention
of wrecking the American navy, they
could not have more deliberately re-
duced the United States to third
rate power" while Representative Nc
Arthur said canvass he had made
gave him hopes of the adoption of an
amendment providing for $4,000 men.
"For the first time in its history"
said the minority report filed by six
members of the Appropriations Com
mittee, "this country has adopted
naval policy. 1t means equality with
the strongest. If that policy is now
disregarded by adoption of the naval
bill we will sink to the rank of a
third-rate naval power with little voice
in any future world councils. No one
doubts that the potential superiority
of the American navy was the con-
trolling factor in4the negotiations Of
the recent conference. Had our dele
gates negotiated treaty that placed
this country below Great Britain or
Japan in naval strength, they would
have been denounced as traitors-not
single vote of the senate would have
been recorded in its favor-yet this
bill proposes to place this country IN
that very position"
The report was signed by Represent
ative Tinkham, Massachusetts,; Ware,
PENNSYLVANIA Wason, New Hamp-
shire; Magee and Hustled, New York,
Republicans, and Gallivan, Massachu-
sets, Democrat.
'The underlying principle on which
in future the strength of our navy must
be determined is it's strength in rela-
ton to Great Britain and Japan" the
report said. "This is the policy of the
5-5-3 ratio; that is equality with Great
Britain and SO of the strength of
Japan.
"The bill ignores this basic policy
and bears no reference to the other
powers whose strength must deter
mine our proportion in this ratio.
"This bill is an attempt to disre-
gard the navies of Great Britain and
Japan, to give us the smallest force
of the three and to establish a prin-
ciple for which no responsible states
man in the worlds history has evet
stood-the principle OF limitation CT
armament by example.
"The provisions of this bill are not
only in opposition to the basic naval
policy of the country, but are in oppo-
sition to the views Of President Har-
ding, Secretary DENLY, Assistant Sec
retary Roosevelt, the chief of naval
operations, the commander-in-chief of
the fleet, the General Board and OF
every officer that has been called in
the hearings"
japan, the minority declared, con-
templated an enlisted strength of 68,-
$50, (which is over 1000 more than
allowed our navy"
"JJnder the 5-5-3 ratio, it added, 1--WE
should have 10000, as compared with
Great-Britain, and $4,000 as compared
with Japan"
Prospects of an amendment being
added to the 1923 naval bill, providing
for $4,000 enlisted men, "are excel
lent" Representative Macarthur said,
adding that his prediction was made
after canvassing the house member
ship.