The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-07-16
SENATORS URGE
CONSOLIDATION OF
NAVAL STATIONS
Closing of Charleston
Yard First Step in
Movement.
PLAN JOINT ACTION
mccormick Resolution Ex-
pected TO Be Favorably
Reported.
PLAN JOINT. ACTION

Acting Secretary OF the Navy
Roosevelt's announcement that the
Charleston. s. c.. navy yard. Ben
Tillman's pride. is to be closed. is
regarded as an initial concession
by tbs administration to the move
sneRt launched by Senator McCor-
EIick Illinois. to trim the pork"
out Of the shore establishments of
use navy.
Pork" has been associated in the
public mind with appropriations for
II er and harbor improvements and
] IbIic buildings. 1t appears now
that the navy-not the seagoing
navy, but the management on land
ct the Navy Department. with its
hundreds of stations for this. that
and the other things to occupy
the ilmelight as a purveyor of pork.
Consultations Planned.
senator Mccormick took a promi-
Isn, part in the debates on the
snavy appropriation bill, recently
passed. which carried in the neigh
eICn cd of $500. 900. 900. calling at
e On to many of the items for
sgEOrr stations. some of which have
~ e"H increased over the appropria-
etions of last year. Finally. he in
providing fc= apo. ntment of a spe-
eial joint committee of Congress to
investigat" the management of the
navy ashore. He had no criticism
: To make of the management of the
: Eavy at sea
4 This resolution was blocked when It
was presented and unanimous consid-
-eration was requested by Senator Dial.
of South Caroline. II went to the
Senate Naval Affairs Committee, but
3 now il is understood the resolution
+ Is to be reported out with the ap-
proval of that committee. and that
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
p Roosevelt has indicated that the de-
Z par ment Itself is DESTROYS of con-
solidatinZ shore stations. where it
can be done with economy.
z. A few DAYS ago Mccormick had in
serted in the Congressional Record A
list of all the shore stations. a list
so formidable as to be almost stag
: gering to the average citizen. Air
stations, ammunition depots.' Marine
h naval hospitals. navy yards. radio sta
avail hospitals navy yards radio sta
tions, and, in fact every kind of sta
tion with which the navy has to do
is included in the list which con-
tains some 300 stations.
Big Stations to Remain.
1t is not the desire of Mccormick
E and other Senators TO cripple the
navy. But they want to be Shown
when IL comes TO the maintenance OF
all these stations. The Washington
conference on limitation of arma-
. ment. with the resulting treaties limit
: ing the tonnage of capital ships and
the size of auxiliary craft, was fol-
lowed by a sigh of relief and thanks
giving that the race for naval strength
was to he halted.
The treaties left the United States
with strong navy-stronger than il
had ever had before the war. But
there was hope that through the
treaties it would be possible to ma Ike
great savings m expenditures for
the navy.
II is not 10 he expected that the
navy can do away with the great
navy yards which have been con-
strUCted at Boston. Philadelphia. New
York. Washington and elsewhere.
They must be maintained if there Is
TO be a navy. But the myriad of
naval stations along the coast can
well b. reduced. it is said.