The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-09-11
u. S. Navy tScrapping
Still Waits For The
..4 Treaty Ratificaton
France and Italy Have Not Yet Accepted, Dis
~ armament Program; Both Expected to Ratify
This Fall; y. S. "Scrapping" Will Undoubt-
eddy Be Held Up Until After All Five Powers
Have Ratified.

Washington, Sept IL Omitted
Press)-Complete plans for scrapping
the American battleships and battle
cruisers doomed by the armament
conference have been carefully work
ed out by the technical experts OF
the Navy Department.
The order from the Secretary OF
the Navy for "full steam ahead' on
the scrapping program probably will
be held UP until the last of the five
powers in the agreement have def
initely ratified the naval treaty.
England, Japan and the United
States have ratified and it is under
stood in official circles that France
will ratify the pact in the early
autumn. It is an open secret that
Italy only waits on Frances action
before falling into line.
So far the only steps toward car
rying out the scrapping program
has been the disposal by competitive
sale of six of the older battleships
that were included in the treaty list.
The ships were practically obslete
and would have gone the !unk-pile
route in due course, even had there
been no limitation conference.
Similar action is being taken by
England and Japan, the ships that are
being destroyed by them being the
older ones or the list, that like our
own, had outlived their usefulness.
Passage of scrapping bill by Con-
gress gives the chief executive power
to order the work of scrapping the
doomed warships as soon as the
formal exchange Of notifications
takes place. Except for an item OF
$5,OOO,OOO for payment to certain
sub-contractors for work completed
for the care of the ships to be scrap
ped, for inventories and other neces-
sary expenditures no. funds have
yet been provided by Congress.
Will Cost SO, 000, 900
Cancellation Of contracts and in
cidental expenses in connection with
cutting off of the building program
will require an appropriation OF
$4,000, 900 according to the de-
partmental estimates. The actual dis
posal of the vessels however, naval
officials hope, will: bring some re-
turns. This is true particularly OF
the old vessels, for there is consid-
cradle brass and lead in them In ad-
dition to steel.
In making plans to scrap the ships
there are two distinct problems to
be faced. One of these, the simpler
one. is the disposal Of the dozen old
ships, Regarding the disposal Of these
the scrapping board recommend that
they be offered for sale to wrecklng
firms for junk after all equipment
of value to the Navy. has been taken
off Provided purchasers can be
found, it is understood. that This
means of disposal will be adopted
In case there are no bidders for them
the Navy will have to undertake the
work of cutting them up or must
take them to sea and sink them.
While there have been no tentative
suggestions from Germany, Sweden
and Holland that bids might be forth
coming from abroad, the recent fail
vre of the British to get more than
q nominal sum OR number OF their
old battleships has a tendency to
discount any optimism in this dlrec-
ton. :,
While the old ships could be used
as the British are doing-as targets
for the fleet, giving airships, sub
marines and battleships all valuable
training, there is a feeling in naval
circles that the economical waste in
sending to the bottom all this metal
should be avoided if possiole.
Ships Now Building
The second and more difficult
problem confronting the board was
the disposal of the ships now build
ing. Here the recommendations, OF
the board was that these vessels pc
sold ON the stocks to the highest bid
dcrs to be broken up and the scrap
disposed Of, The practical difficulty
of having wrecking gangs come into
private yards, .or navy yards even
probably will. lead to the adoption
Of a different plan. 1t is understood
that in the cases Of the four ships
building in the private yards, the final
DISPOSAL of the hulks will be taken
up in the negotiations over the set
the cancellation of the contracts. 1t
is the opinion of many officers that
it. will be possible to make satlsfac-
tory arrangements with the snip
yards building them to undertake tie
work of breaking them up
In the case of the four battieships
and two battle cruisers building IN
navy yards, the board recommended
that the hulls be sold as they stand
to commercial firms. Two OF the
battlecruisers are at the Philadelphia
yard, work on them only having been
fairly started before the stop order
was issued.