The New York herald., 1922-05-10
Tells Manufacturers That
Warship Holiday Will
Not Cut Taxes.
HARTMAN MAKES PLEA
If All Would Work Like Far
mers We Would Have Pros
perity, Says j. R. Howard.

Admiral r. f. Coontz, ranking Of
flcer OF the United States Navy and
it's chief of operations. attacked the
little or no navy advocates in speech
before the National Association Of
Manufacturers in the Waldorf last
night, in which he declared that "Our
foreign policies are as strong as our
feet and no stronger"
He based his plea for the navy
not only on It's value as potential
fighting force. but on its usefulness as
means of protection for American
commerce. He denounced as fallacy
the argument that holiday In battle
ship building will mean a great reduc-
ton in taxes. He held that peace can
not be effected through disarmament,
and that with a navy completely
scrapped a declaration of war would
simply mean the arming Of merchant
ships.
Sees Navy ms Insurance.
Admiral Coontz told the manufac-
turers he regards the navy as a good
business investment Does 1t seem un-
reasonable TO you," he asked them, that
with our sea forces keeping an open
market throughout the world for some
| $4,000, 900, 900 In annual American ex-
ports we should expend $300.0oo.o0o a
year for the navy?"
The Admiral estimated that 1t costs
about 100000 q year to guard our In
terests In the Asiatic area. place that
sso tv~ hA vol n
the exports we sent to China In 1920
| $I45,000, 900. The navy maintains q
force Of destroyers In Europe to guard
our interests in the Eastern Medfterra-
mean and In the Black Sea- The Greeks
and the Turks are at war and therefore
our interests are In need of protection.
The value of our tobacco interests. for
example, In the port Of Samsun, on the
Black Sea. amounts to $15,000.000 an
nually. 1t costs the navy $4.ooo.ooo
| annually to maintain our forces in Eu-
ropean waters.
NAVAL forces aremaintained through
| out the Caribbean Sea to keep down
revolutions. protect life and guard our
| commerce. Our fruit trade In the West
| Indies Is enormous. In 1921 we import
| ed fruit valued at about $50. .000.o0 and
much Of this came from countries bor-
dering on the Caribbean.
same Cry After Each War.
'our people have always been inclined
at the end of each war to wreck the
navy. After the War of tho Revolu-
ton we wrecked the navy and disposed
| of every single ship. Soon after we be-
came an independent country and had
wrecked our navy. the pirates OF the
Barbary Coast seized the wheat we had
been shipping into the Mediterranean
markets. Congress, to protect our trade.
was therefore forced to make an appro-
priation to build fighting ships. So when
the farmer In the great West asks why
he should be taxed to build battleships,
you can tell him that we built our first
man of war in 1874 In order that his
wheat could be safely delivered to for
eign markets"
At the afternoon session addresses
were made by ]. r. Howard. president
of the American Farm Bureau Fedora
ton, on The Farmer In Industry: r.
c. Marshall. Jr.. general manager OF
the Associated General Contractors OF
America, on The Greatest Revival in
the Construction Industry; J. ID. A.
Morrow, vice-president OF the National
Coal Association. on The Outlook for
CoaY; w. Averell Hartman. president
OF the United American Lines, on The
Future of Our Shirpfng Industry" and
Senator Walter f. Edge Of New Jersey
on The Duty of Government to Busi-
ness"
Every discussion Of business revival
which I have heard" said Mr.. Howard.
"dwells upon the agricultural plight.
transportation costs, initiation and defla-
tion, legislation or European conditions
All bear their due portion OF Importance.
but outranking any Is the great national
need for work. The farm is the only
factory in America which has run full
time and full force since tho war re-
gardless OF hours or wages or profits"
r. G. Marshall said that the volume
of building contracts awarded In April