Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-04-11
NAVAL BILL CONTROVERSIES.

T. There is a striking difference of opinion between,
inc executive department of the nation as represent
cd by Secretary DENLY and the legislative depart
ment as represented by the house ~b-comlnit on
appropriations, which has just reported the new
naval bill. The committee. bill reduces the enlisted
personnel of the navy to G5,0OO. which is lust a little
more than two-thirds OF what the naval department
insists is essential to the maintenance of the naval
strength OF the nation on the basis of 5-5-3 which
was fixed by the recent conference for the United
States, Great Britain and Japan.
In a statement issued when the bill was reported
Chairman Kelley goes into an analysis of the bill.
he insists that the men provided are sufficient to
man at their tull strength all the major war vessels
provided tor in the compact, and all the subordinate
vessels included III that agreement. He quotes from
British statistics to show that both the American
personnel and the American appropriations are al
most identical with those provided in the British
budget. He has been unable to obtain Japanese fig
ures, but he concludes that it would be impractic-
able tor Japan to use more than two-thirds of the
American strength on the smaller number of vessels
which she IS permitted to- maintain.
Contrasted with this 10 the unqualified state
'ment OF the Secretary of the navy that if this bill be-
comes a law hHe of the eighteen battleships allowed
blythe conference agreement will have to go out of
for lack OF men to man them, and that
our naval strength will actually be reduced to two
thirds that of Great Britain, and to less than that of
Japan.
There is such a wide difference in these two posi-
~o' ''ioe ~ - AliSlu dlllO Dc cNen apOTOXlfn-
ately right. Somebody is emphatically wrong. The
country is interested in knowing who is right, or
nearly right.
The secretary of the navy is himself a practical
man. He is not only in touch with all the proper
sources OF information, but he is in a position, by
virtue OF personal experience, to. select his expert
authorities with sound judgment. Perhaps some al
loWance must be made for the enthusiasm of an Of
fc1al for his particular service. But with a level
headed man such enthusiasm does not lead to the
collection OF incorrect statistics and to the publica-
ton OF SPECIFIC statements such as Mr.. DENLY has
made II these statement are not correct. When
Mr.. DENLY said definitely that if the proposed bill
passes, 1t will be necessary to lay up five of our
eighteen larger vessels because there will not be
men enough to man them, the presumption is that
he is correct.
On the other hand, while the house committee
has undoubtedly called in men familiar>with naval
technic to supply information, the practice of con-
gresslonal committees TO interpret the information
given by experts with minds focused chiefly in the
political effect of their actions is too we'll known to
inspire complete confidence in the decisions of such
committees. The house is framing a naval bill in
the knowledge that congressional elections are ap-
preaching. The country demands economy. If a
reputation for economy can be made by Topping off
dollars, well and good. The people who have to
carry on the work Of the navy may make the best of
it. That has been the attitude of a good many con-
gresslonal committees in the past, and it is at least
possible that something of the sort may have been
in mind in this case. 1