Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-01
Alas! Navy Loses Its
Precious Ornament
Cont4nnsS from rsSs ONe

ContannsS from rsss Ons
could not have her back. And deal
was arranged for her return, the board
paying the Navy the $1SO,0OO which
had been spent fixing her up for a
nassl sss-et.ry e; ~ 9b.nb, wrote President
Harding on February % that he would
like to keep the big liner. as she had
some tactical value. but that he could
not honestly say that her loss would
decrease the fighting eMciency OF the
navy. And President Harding wrote
back to his Secretary complimenting
him upon his spirit in returning the
ship and saying that i was splendid
evidence of the Navy Departments de-
sire to save money. With this com
| plimentary exchange of notes, the
Great Northern ceases her career as a
| warship and becomes once more liner.
Watchdogs on the Job
Back Of IL all was the experience Of
Admiral Coontz with the Appropria.
tions Committee of the House. In De.
cember the Navy Department asked
propriations. The watchdogs Of the
Treasury. who would like to spend n
few billions upon the bonus, were scan.
dalized. They had Admiral Coontz and
others before them, with the result that
the request for $27 100000 deficiency
was withdrawn.
The Navy worried along for a while
under the new dispensation, in which 1t
Is not easy to obtain money to meet
deficiencies. But the first half Of the
year having passed under the cheerful
impression that all was as before and
that all you had to do was ask for
| r,,,a,, onJ vot u tho inevitable han /.
pened.
And on February ] Admiral Coontz
had to 60 up and tell the House APP
preparations Committee that the Navy
was about out of fuel oil. It must buy
more. "If you do. we can have you
arrested" said Representatives Mad
den and Kelley, reading. the law which
no one had ever enforced.
The appropriation for fuel OIL for the
year had been SIT. 5000 The Con-
gressmen insisted that the oil had been
100 destroyers held in reserve should
consume sic. .OOO, 900 worth Of oil in
year. OF course, II ships in reserve use
up two thirds of the oil appropriation,
there naturally would not be. enougl
for the ships in the active list. VI
the 1880 900 appropriated. $l2.2SS
900 had been spent on oil in the. first
four months. 1.-THE navy is as badl!
managed as the Shipping Board com
mented Mr.. Madden severely.
The upshot of 1t all was the the navy
was allowed to spend S6,5OO,O 900 more
upon oil, provided that 1t could saw
his $4,000, 600 out OF Its other ap'
preparations and not have a dehcienc!
ut the end Of the year.
FrilIs Go tho Voyage
Naturally, that does not leave mucl
opportunity for frills A liner for th'
admiral commanding becomes q super
, fluffy. An offer from the Shipping Boart
to nay back the $3.50, 600 spent upol
, filing up that liner becomes something
not to be lightly turned down. Tha
$3.50. 900 is $1S0,0OO toward tn
20, 800 900 that has to be found some
where. SO the Great Northern leave
! the paths of glory for the dangerou
, and prosaic Alaskan trade.
Out of this it Is possible to get som
idea of the sudden turning out Of nav,
: yard employees. Down here in Wash
ington men came to work in the morn
ing with their dinner pals and wer
told that there was no work for then
: and never would be again. Some O
them had worked for the Government
: more than twenty years. A privat
employer Of labor who treated his work
men 10 badly would be hoOtcd.
Y. But of a sudden the navy was con
fronted with the necessity Of gettin
hat SO, SOC, 900 from somewhere or els
. aging up its ships for lack of fue
e Men had to be turned of without warn
: ing and fussy fiagships Of no utility ha
TO be sold. If Congress were only a
good at saving money itself as it is
= forcing the navy to save, tax bills woul
y come down. But then there Is I'll
" soldier vote to be thought of.