Evening star., 1922-02-09
NAVY STOPS WORK
i ON A G|ANT.CRAFT
Scrapping or Conversion to
Merchant Ships in Store
for II War Vessels.

In anticipation of ratification of
the naval limitation treaty, which
resulted from the Washington con-
ference, and under which only three
of the vessels involved will be COM
pleted as war craft, Secretary of the
Navy DENLY yesterday afternoon. un-
der direction of President Harding,
suspended construction work on
fourteen capital ships. Eleven Of
the ships will be scrapped or Ncon-
verted to merchant ships under the
treaty provisions.
The action of Secretary DENLY was
taken after Assistant Secretary of
the Navy Roosevelt. had consulted
with President Harding on the terms
of the treaty affecting the new ships.
The President approved the suSges-
tion. that work be Immediately sus-
noughts and six battle cruisers. 1t is
estimated the building operations
thus halted have cost the government
approximately s5.000,000 a month.
Contracts to Be Cancelled.
Following ratification of the treaty
contracts for the new ships will be
cancelled. The ultimate cost to the
government of this cancellation can
not be determined in advance, but
cradle saving will be made through
yesterdays action.
Only one capital snip under con-
struction was exempted from tne
suspension order. She is the Col
orado, more than 90 per cent COM
plete. and which will be retained in
the permanent fleet.
Vessels on which work was ordered
stopped included eight first class
battleships: The Washington. at the
New York Shipbuilding Corporation;
the West Virginia, Newport News
the South Dakota. New York navy
yard; the Indiana. New York navy
yard; the Montana, Mare Island navy
yard; the North Carolina, Norfolk
navy yard; the Iowa, Newport News
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company,
and the Massachusetts,, Bethlehem
Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River,
Mass. \
Work was also ordered suspended
on six battle cruisers as follows:
Lexington. Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corporation: Constellation, Newport
Company: Saratoga. New York Ship
building corporation; Ranger. New
port News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
Company; Constitution and United
States. Philadelphia navy yard.
The work on the eight battleships
StoOu lIOHl IL per cent compete on
the Massachusetts to 70 per cent
complete on the West Virginia on
January 1, while, the construction on
the battle cruisers Is not SO far ad-
Nanced, running from 3.S per cent on
the Ranger to 32.4 per cent ON the
Saratoga
VIII Complete One Of Them.
While work on the battleships West
Virginia and Washington was or
dered stopped, one of these ships will
be completed and added to the fleet
when finished. Which Is to be select
ed for completion has not been de-
c1ded. but it has been indicated that
the West Virginia probably will be
named. 1t is believed by Navy Off
cials that she can be finished more
cheaply than the Washington, a. sis-
ter ship of the -post-Jutland class
with the Colorado. the vessel thus
selected for completion will make up
the two battleships ''of the West Vir-
ginia class which the United States
is to retain to replace the Delaware
and North Dakota Of the present
fleet, which will be scrapped on COM
pletion of the new vessels. The pair
form the American. equivalent under
the 5-5-3 naval ratio agreement OF
the treaty for Japanese retention of
the battleship Mutsu. = .
The other battleships on which
work was stopped are of the 40, ,00O-
ton type. armed with twelve sixteen
inch guns, excluded from future ma
val establishments of the treaty
powers.
OF the six battle cruisers, two are to
be completed as airplane carriers, but
work Of converting them to that type