Evening star., 1922-04-10
MINORITY REPORT
SCORES NAVY BILL
FIVE Republicans and One
Democrat Bitterly Oppose
Personnel Cut.

Bitter opposition to the Navy ap-
preparation bill for the fiscal year
/! 1928, as reported to the House, call
| ing for $1,000 men and 6,356 officers,
is voiced in a minority report pre-
| pared by Representative George Ho~-
| den Tinkham of Massachusetts,, signed
! by five republicans and one democrat,
and in statements issued by Repre-
sentative Macarthur of Oregon ana
Representative Britten of Illinois
both republican members of the
House legislative committee on naval
| affairs.
! A reduction of the naval forces of
! the United States to the extent rec
| ignore 1.-The basic naval policy set
down by the arms conference, the
minority report declared, asserting
that an enlisted personnel of $4,000
with 5000 apprentices, would be nee
essary to keep the United States
abreast of Great Britain and ahead Of
Japan.
Fears for American Navy.
Representative Britten said If the
bill had been framed by british mad
Japanese delegates" with the inten-
tion of wrecking the American Navy,
they could not have more deliber-
ately reduced the United States I"
tive Macarthur said a canvass he had
made gave him hopes of the adoption
of an amendment providing for 10000
men.
For the first time in it's history"
said the minority report filed by six
members of the appropriations COM
mittee. this country has adopted a
naval policy. 1t means equality with
the strongest. If that policy is now
disregarded by adoption of the Navy
bill we will sink to the rank of
third rate naval power. with little
voice in any future councils. No one
doubts that the potential superiority
of the American Navy, was the con-
trolling factor in the negotiations of
the recent conference. Had our del
egates negotiated Il treaty that placed
this country below Great Britain or
Japan in naval strength they would
have been denounced as traitors-not
a single vote of the Senate would
have been recorded in its favor-yet
this bill proposes to place this coun-
try in that very position"
The report was signed by Repre-
sentatives Tinkham, Massachusetts:
Nare Pennsylvania; Wason. New
Hampshire; Magee and Fusted, New
York, republicans. and Gallivan,
Massachusetts,, democrat.
Strength Ratio Held Vital.
"The underlying principle on which
in future the strength of our Navy
must be determined is it's strength in
relation 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 that basic policy
and bears no reference to the other
powers whose strength must determine
our proportion in this ratio.
This bill is an attempt to disregard
the navieS of Great Britain and Japan
to give us the smallest force of the
three and to establish a principle for
which no responsible statesman in the
worlds history has ever stood-the
principle of limitation of armament by
example.
THE provisions of this bill. are not
only in opposition to the baAics naval
policy of the country, but .Arf@ op-
position to the views OF PresfdeAt Hard
ing, Secretary DENLY, Assistant Sec
retary Roosevelt. the chieSLaA naval
operations, the commandeTf Of
every naval officer that has Called
in the hearings
Amendment Prospects Bright.
Japan. the minority declared, >contem-
plated an enlisted strength of 6S,252,
which is over 1000 more than allowed
our Navy" =
Under the 5-5-3 ratio" it added, I'VE
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 10000 enlisted men ARE excellent
Representative Macarthur of Oregon,
also a republican member of the naval
committee, said, adding that his pre-
diction was made after canvassing the
House membership.
IF the appropriations committee con-
tinues this policy of attempting to legs-
late by Withholding funds for the proper
activities of the government said the
Oregon member. there will soon be
revolt amo.s- House members and the
present system centraliZing all ap-
propriating power iii one committee will
be abandoned"