The Mena weekly star., 1922-02-16
WOULD REDUCE
 NAVY BY 10000
Tells House Committee Larger Cut Is Not Now Practicable as Warships Are Under manned at Present.
 Can Save $70.OOO,O0O.

1 Washington, Feb. 13.--Secretary
 Denby appeared before the House naval committee today to recommend that the navy personnel for the next fiscal year be fixed at 90,000 men and 6,000 apprentices as compared with 100000 men and 5000 apprentices now authorized.
 Mir. Denby recommended that there be no reduction in the existing strength of line officers of the navy; that the first class at Annapolis be graduated and commissioned, but that appointments to the academy here after be reduced to three for each member of Congress, instead of five.
 The naval secretary recommended that 100 destroyers be placed out of commission. He estimated that the program he outlined would affect a saving of $70,000,000 in next years budget.
 Cuts Already Made.
 Secretary Denby's statement point ed out that since 1919 the war time naval establishment had been reduced from 1862 vessels in commission to 900, the commissioned personnel from 32, POS to 6,163, and the enlisted force from 480,723 to 100,999.
 Tt is not easy," he said, "to get back to normalcy from such vast ex- pansion.
 Mir. Denby said the net result of the naval limitation conference today is that Great Britain is to have 22 capi- tai ships, the United States IS and Japan 10, there being no limitation on auxiliary combat craft except as to size and armament of future vessels.
 When the conference opened, Mir. Denby said, the United States had 46 battleships, 35 cruisers, BIT destroy CTS, submarines, 197 auxiliary craft and 164 mosquito fleet" vessels.
 Navy Is Under-manned.
 By the terms of the treaty." he said, "the United States will have re- maining IS battleships, 316 destroyers, B cruisers, 147 submarines, 196 aux diaries and 152 small vessels. It Is clear that no definite conclusions as to the future strength of the United States navy should be reached until ratification by the Senate of the pend- ing treaty because we shall not know absolutely until then that the treaty will become effective. This compli- cates the question of personnel"
 Mir. Denby described the status of the fleet in commission today, show ing that battleships carry about 84 per cent complement, destroyers from 50 to 80 per cent and submarines from 40 per cent up.
 Tt is quite clear that the navy in enlisted and commissioned personnel both is undeF-manned today" he said.
 ''lt is clear in your mind undoubted- ly that the rule applied in appcrtion- ing of vessels in the different navies (under the treaty. was what was called the 'navies needed for national safety and the results were arrived at after a most careful study of the sit nations confronting each nation par ticipating in the treaty. It must be assumed, therefore, that IS battle ships is regarded by the governments signatory to the treaty as the neces- sary quota for the safety of the Unit ed States"
 Shall Have No Scouts.
 Mir. Denby pointed out that uns:l the 34-knot cruisers now under con- struction were completed, the navy would have mo vessel other than the destroyer capable of making even 25 knots an hour" since the battle cruis- CTS were not to be completed.
 "In other words," he said, i've shall have no scouts. I take it there 1r fr ho ,,lo4s these ten scout cruisers ana that the work will proceed upon them with ra- pidity until they are finished"
 The secretary said figures or per sonnel he presented were based on that assumption that his belief that the navy could not dispense with any ception of the reduction in enlisted strength of 10000 men he recommend l ed.
 Officers Help Save.
 MT. Denby said navy officers had | "loyally and earnestly" co-operated in | the efforts at national retrenchment. l Since he took office, he added, 246 na- l val ships had been sold and the mon | ey turned into the treasury and as further retrenchment step, the naval | revolving fund of $250,000,000 would | be reduced to $150, ,00O ,000.
 MT. Denby said that by placing 100 | destroyers out of commission he | would release 6,400 enlisted men ef | feet saving of $13, 100000. An addi- | tional 3,600 enlisted men could be cut l off, he added, in contemplated econo- | mics at shore stations.
 Mir. Denby said estimated withdraw | als from the treasury for the navy for the fiscal year 1922 were $47S,- | 100000. With the economies he plan ned, the reduction in the building pro- gram and the placing out of commis- sion of the 100 destroyers, he added, | he felt confident the 1923 fiscal year estimates could be reduced to $350,- 100000.