Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-04
WINNING $4,000 NAVY
FOR UNITED STATES
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, May IA short
time ago the House voted. III ayes
to 100 noes. to increase the person.
mel of the Navy from $1,000, recon-
mended by the appropriations COM
mittee in the interests of economy,
to $4,000. urged strongly by Presi-
dent Harding in a personal message
to the House.
Behind his message to Congress,
| which is credited with the overturn
of the committees recommendations
and the overriding of Republican
leadership of the House in this mat
ter. was pressure which was brought
to bear on the President by mem
bers of the senate. The action taken
| by the House was and still is viewed
from many angles. By some it is
| called a sever and unwarranted
further attack on the pocketbook of
| the American taxpayer. 1t has been
| called a victory for militarism. By
others still it is said that ever &c.
900 men is not the full number
needed to man the ships properly
of the restricted navy allotted the
United States under the treaty
agreed upon at the recent confer
ence for the Limitation OF arma-
ments.
The members of the House all
have to go before their constituents
| this fall for reelection. 1t was gener-
ally felt that the country at large
wants government OUTLAWS of money
cut to the very bone. Any war of
the future is felt to be many years
| away, if not entirely improbable.
even impossible. The countries of
| the world. carrying enormously
heavy war debts and consequent
large loads of taxes, are not, as a
matter of fact. eager to resume fight
ing with each other on any consid-
cradle scale.
But while the treaty to limit the
naval ornaments of the great pow
ers was still before the senate for
| ratification, President Harding was
told in no uncertain terms by certain
western senators that unless the
larger personnel for the navy was
| strongly recommended by him to the
House, the prospects for ratification
of the naval treaty would be slim
indeed.
The Senate Situation
In the midst of all of the row
about the personnel of the navy,
with most members of the House
facing an immediate accountability
to their constituents for voting 49,
900 additional men. a strong group
of senators took the stand that it
would be a ridiculous thing to have
a certain number of fighting ships
allowed in the American navy, If
some of them were going to be
so stripped of crew that they would
have to lie idle at their moorings.
with only sufficient force aboard to
keep the vessels from being utterly
ruiuad nv rust and neglect,
The Navy Department repeatedly
| pointed out to congress and the peo-
Pile that only a portion of h capital
ships allowed the United States could
be kept in commission, with trained
men to operate them. If the cut to
$1,000 men was made in the person
mel of the navy. In spite of this, the
leaders of the majority in the lower
branch Of congress. in the interests
of economy and in response to the
public clamor against continuing
heavy taxes il they can in any way
be reduced, were bent on putting
through the smaller naval quota.
President Harding did not want to
embarrass any members OF the
House, particularly the leadership of
that body, by using his influence in
the fight. He having been a member
of congress he knew the exact sit
| udllOh III Wit1Ai AAAaAAy u -
members, with an election on their
hands, found themselves. However,
he was moved to urge the larger per
sonnet because of the fact that 9TH
erwise ratification of h naval
treaty in the senate would have been
the subject of a real fight, with
strong possibilities of defeat.
1t can be stated on the best au-
thority that one of the western SEN
ators, and one who has long been
associated with naval legislation,
told the President fatty that he and
several of his colleagues would have
to fight the naval treaty to the last
ditch unless what they considered an
adequate personnel for the Ameri-
can navy was provided. The defeat
of the treaty would have been a far
more serious question for the coun-
try and the whole world than would
the addition or subtraction of 10000
men from the personnel of the
American navy. 1t would have upset
all of the international agreements
reached here in Washington by the
world powers. 1t would have meant
| going on with the interminable race
of naval arguments, and in the end
would have meant, the administers
tion felt. very much greater tax bur-
dens than the 10000 increase ~ tbs