davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

the past II has been extremely diff
cult to make any real progress to-
ward disarmament at Geneva.
Without the cooperation Of the
United States It was obviously i'm
possible to reach any practical solu.
ton Of the problem Of naval dis
armament The United States was
one Of the main factors Of tho prob
lem. and any attempt to solve It IN
her absence was bound to ks abor-
tive. On the other hand, It was diff
ficult for Great Britain to take q
prominent part In the discussion Of
the equally vital necessity kor dis
armament ON land unless, a. the
greatest Of sea powers. she display
ed her good faith by showing her.
self willing to disarm at sea. That
obstacle is now removed. However
strong q position upon disarmament
on land Great Britain and the Do
minions may choose to assume az
Geneva will be more than Justified
by their actions at Washington. 1t
will now be our duty and our right
to press other nations to 20 and do
likewise.
But although the abstention Of the
United States from the work Of tho
league has retarded the discussion
Of naval disarmament at Geneva and
necessarily concentrated attention
upon the European problem Of dis
armament on land, II must not he
supposed that the naval problem
has been overlooked II h interest
ing TO notice that tho committee on
disarmament Of the League of Ma
tons Union. composed. among others,
OF such eminent mon a. Admiral
Hopwood, General Couch and Gen
eral Maurice. came TO conclusions
on naval disarmament curiousiy
similar to those of Mr.. Hughes.
They say In their report, which
was published ~ y pamphlet by the
League Of Nations Union, that the
British governments veicoms an
nsuncsmsat % . ''one-powsr stand
ard" and their repsdiasisa q ths
Mo- a competitive huslAins - "a
80. enc ~ svsn se1nxiafA go
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
Fight for Staff.

a'sfThs ability Of the army and the
Ssnavy to do their work satisfac-
torfly has been impaired, in the
FUnited States, Great Britain and
lfFrance. by tho unreasonable inter-
atretation put on the perfectly req
stonable statement 'the military 10
subordinate to the civil authority"
aThe army and navy have been
'sbeld at arms length by the civil
authority. not permitted to know
sths policy which they were expect
-sed, TO support. or Except In an in
stdifect way) to have voice In de-
stidins even the kinds Of ships they
s&ers to dght in.
srsTt was only by the most strenu-
sous exertions that our army Sc
cured q general staff: ana there n
80 reason 20 suppose that u would
lave secured %. had not an alto
rtether exceptional man H;iihu Root
beccus e>crctsry % War: snf n
NJ hal not drawn no ssd cavss1
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
Conference. "

" HE American nation possesses
both courage and idealism. A
certain directness and sim
plicity Of character enables them to.
/. take great decisions. They less
often than some Of W in the Old
World let IT dare not" wait upon IT
would" The ardor Of youth IL not
contaminated, as unfortunately 1t IL
apt to be on this side of tho Atlantic.
by that cynicism and suspicion
which are the legacy Of blood-stain-
ed oshturies OF international an
archy. They know nothing Of ida
ohiaverfi. and still less Of Frederick
the Great. They have called . con-
ference on disarmament and the
striking proposals with which they
have opened that conference, pro-
posals that have startled tho world
into almost unanimous admiration,
seem to them the natural corollary
of an intention TO disarm.
Mr.. Balfour. rising as he has
often done to the level Of a great,
situation, has cordially certified the
adhesion Of the British government
to the principles laid down by Mr..
Hughes, and It must not be sup
posed for a moment that those Of US
who have tho objects Of the League
of Nations at heart can feel any.
thing but qualification at this splen-
did opening Of the Washington con.
ference. It would be. indeed, O mean
and Jealous spirit that refused %
recognize the value Of the bold stop
taken BY the United States On be-
half Of peace. II has been q matter
Of infinite regret that political 40
cidents have prevented America
from joining tho League. and We
are well aware that her absence
has In many cases hindered the
progress Of the League. But that
regret does not diminish In any Do
gree the cordiaiity with which We
welcome the efforts Of the United
States to further objects identical
with ours. and IN my opinion cur
whole Sesrtsd and constant suppors
shouid BE- ezssnded 90 the alma and
isssssis.s e Pvsssasst uar<a.e IN
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
GRAND TOTAL

Under tho Hughes plan battle.
ships hereafter win Be discarded at
the age Of twenty years. II 10 in
tsresting to note, however, that .
part Of me plan IL the discardins
at this time Of our IL pre-drsaA-
naushts. OF these, however, only
three are now a. much a. twenty
years old from date Of first osm-
mission. -Four are II years cid, enc
10 1s. I'VE are Is, and TIVE are II,
But mono Of thsm have guns Of
over II inches. and modern ships
carry IL TO 10 inch guns and
therefore greatly sutrangs 1slnch
gun ships.
Thess rs vessels cost compiets,
when built. SESAME. ana whom
thsir tonnage u a,7.iss b sd1sa b
ths ss1.see ts.s q IN nine hasels
sAips - - sscraepsA. ssh % ~
80 80 - - IN bnffis wu1nR4
- bDrh - ~ - aUuss =
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
By JOSEPEIUS DANIELS
(SecTetaTy OF the NaUy In Wilson's Ca6net)
Blow Much Mancy Would Sapptg Navy Ships Save?-Nav Officials
Think Promises Made WIN Prove Great Illusion; Can Bate Cruisers
BE Converted Into Fast Atlantic Ler?-Some Illuminating Facts ana
FIGURES. fI

r HAVE been asked two questions
which many are thinking about
in-the discussion of reducing
the great navies Of the world. They
are:
/. How much money win be saved
to the United States taxpayers by
the scrapping Of the ships. under
the Hughes proposition7
Q. What will be the strength of
the American navy after the scrap
ping7
Talking with naval officials and
able naval officers in Washington,
I found the general feeling at the
Navy Department was that the
money saving would be small in
comparison with the public expec-
tation. The only direct saving in
expenditure will be secured by not
completing the fifteen great ships
under, construction. II completed,
their total cost would be $3.50. 000,-
900. Already some of them are
nearly completed. and material for
others has been fabricated. When
they are strapped, we will have
spent $s32.000.0 900 on them, and that
money will 60 to the bottom of the
sea. The net savings will be the
$21S.000.000 additional which they
would have cost II completed. 1t
seems a pity to destroy these ships
30 nearly completed. II we are still
to maintain a large navy, as Mr..
Hughes plan proposes. many peo-
pie think II would be better to com.
plete the new and better ships. with
their 1s.inch guns already so Der
cent completed. and sink such ships
as the Delaware. Florida. ane ID to
and including the Wyoming ch.ss
than sacrifice the latest word Il; sdx
ships upon which 20 many millions
OF dollars have been expended.
What about the other money to be
saved? That will depend upon Con-
gress-whether IL win reduce the
number Of officers and men, and
how many. The great cost Of the
navy IL the pay and provision for
Its personnel. and every expendi-
ture IL based upon the number of
men in the service.
As to the second question Of the
strength Of the navy after the scrap
ping takes place--how viii It stand?
Capt. Dudley w. Knox, one Of the
best posted officers Of the navy, in
a recent article IN tho New York
Times answered that question from
the standpoint Of naval officers.
The fact is." said Captain Knox,
that Mr.. Hughes proposed navy is
actually larger than the navy now
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

In service. The ships designated to
be- scrapped are composed almost
exclusively Of those sim under con-
struction and those laid up out Of
commission, with no personnel on
board. In some CLASSES Of ships Mr..
Hughes proposals exceed the ton
mage afloat and projected. For ex-
ample. in aircraft carriers we have
about 10000 tons building az against
$4,000 proposed. Many ships now in
the navy. and which VIII be retain.
ed under any agreement the confer.
ence may reach. are already reduced
to such small compliments as can
barely prevent them from deterior-
ating seriously-much less operate
them efficiently on q normal peace
basis. For example. out of about
500 first line destroyers we haye
but sixty-five in active commission
on an 81 per cent complement, and
the remainder on q 80 per cent
basis. We have eighteen battleships
In commission. precisely the num-
Der named in the proposals before
the conference, but they have only
SSH per cent Of the ordinary peace
complement of personnel. The entire
navy. afloat and ashore. is running
on about 76 per cent Of the normal
peace compliments"
Tho Great Illusion.
II Captain Knox is right, the ex-
pectation which the Washington
conference has aroused Of a great
ly decreased naval budget will turn
out to be great illusion. 1t cost
about s1s0, 900 900 a year for all
naval expenditures Including new
dreadnaughtD before the war be-
gan in Europe. Who expects to
see the appropriation that low un-
der the reduction proposed? Are
we to have the promise to the ear
to be broken to the hope?
The United States proposals at
tio CohhSh ChSC, ohou8hs hoh woAo oo
dramatically by Secretary Hughes,
win make radical changes in time
in all navies, but II is interesting to
consider their immediate effect up
on the navy Of the United States.
The navy as we find 1t today has
been the growth OF forty years, as
It was just forty years ago that
the country undertook to rehabili-
tate the navy after the period Of
dry rot" which set in Immediately
after the civil war.
On November /, 1921, we had
seventy-six instead Of eighty vessels
under construction comprising nine
battleships. six battle cruisers, ten
scout cruisers. forty-one submarines
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

petitive building. And they add:
THE desired result would, however.
be secured by adding to the one
power standard an agreement a. to
the maximum number, size and ar
mament Of the capital ships which
the great naval powers should main
tain and as to the replacement Of
capital ships when obsolescent. This
Is the practical minimum which
ought to be obtainable at %
q conference of naval powers." It
Is clear that on both sides Of the
Atlantic similar aims had led in
tslligent minds to similar remedies,
1t IL, think. Of great importance
that the immense value Of the Wash.
ington conference should b under.
stood by those who support the
League Of Nations in this country.
There Is. to begin with, the vast
Impetus toward peace and against
war created by the widely advertised
existence Of such q conference.
Conferences to divide the spells after
q war. conferences to compromise
about the spoils, instead Of goinr Tn
war. have been tho accustomed ma.
chinery Of the old diplomacy. Bu,
q conference whose avowed and sole
object is the preservation Of peace
10 on q different plane. There IN a
moral purpose behind II which IL
CHARACTERISTIC Of the nsw interna.
tional outlook. The minds of mcn
cannot fail to be Impressed BIZ some
thing 20 arresting, and, alas, q. un-
usual. 1t 10 the first steps that count
In tho adoption Of q new morality.
We shall not hear 30 much in fI.
ture Of the impossibility Of making
change In human nature, We
shall not be % afraid In future Of
vested interests that appeared no
formidable. We shall have 4 vaiua,
BILE precedent to which We can ap-
peal.
Then again II ID clear that n the
United States. the richest country IN
the world. definitsly announces that
she cannot beaS the financial bur-
dens sntailed by preparation Tor war,
much les can the impoverished
countries Of Europe endure such a
burdsn. The Taxpayer. the uaAsr,
end ths financtsr cannss IN % -
eDs frem - c1ang sn snnmpes O.
neunmn1fy - DoDNA
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

sIS.74o tons. built and building. 10
be strapped. II was not until 1905
that our whole navy reached . dis
placement greater than this figure,
% that We are scrappins IN ton
mage . displacement equal 70 that
of our whole navy in 1905.
TIE "scrapping'' Of thsss sAips
involves the disposition Of hun.
armor, propslling machinery and
armament The exact procedure has
net bean determined and 10 one u
the questions to b settled ~ the
conference, Two courses are pos-
sibls. One. to absolutely destroy
or reduce to scrap metal the vss-
ssis In question, o. psssbiy take
than cut and sink thsm- TIE
ether ceurss n % ufili,s - much
q IN massrtai ~ prast1pah,s Ter
nsDrUls purpneA
p - -. - = ~
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
nous Fight."
.zzcHTyHE definition of 'miiitarism"
4HK In the Standard Dictionary 10

ssargTHn definition of ''miiitarism"
4sfK In the Standard Dictionary 10
- "ths giving Of UNDUE promi-
sg nence to military training and mill
evsAary glory" etc. eto. .....
49, Acting a. q check on miiitarism
Hfi0nciuding navalism) IL anti-militar-
eEs1sm: clearly . wholesome agency.
Ncs0niess used to excess. Ono Of Its
tk5 objects II to prevent an undue size
90 % the army and navy. AZ civilians
~ 'naturally wish to keep their arm'i-
5ssment always prepared for war,
ssssnatural and healthful conflict Of
sSSxiews and interests has resulted.
49, One phase of the conflict has
<saBeen q movement by civilians to pre-
41sevent the officers from having that
Ws-Soice In important naval and milf
q stAry matters which they always had,
esvuntn about century ago.
sst II would. Of course. be foolish TO
Tsw1ivert mon trained at Annapolis
sNlknd West Point to the purely civil
.Ryian task Of determining the amount
Sy;6f money that should be spent on
armament or deciding the policies
OF the nation. But IF ARMIES
ssi'AND NAvIES ARE ORGANIZA-
sAtIIONS SO DIFFERENT FROM
1shfHOSE OF THE CIVIL AUTHOR
~ lTY THAT OFFICERS HAVE TO
gh'HE EDUCATED FROM EARLY
Youth AND IN SPECIAL INSTI-
b1UTIOraS, II FOLLOWS THAT
- CIVILIANS MAY NOT UNDER
81 STAND ARMIES AND NAvIES
~ WELL ENOUGH TO HANDLE
THEM IN THE WAY THEY
OUGHT TO BE HANDLED.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

Az regards the vessels under con-
struction. however. It might be found
possible to convert some Of them for
merchant purposes. For instance. the
Shipping Board Is investigating the
possibility Of converting some Of the
battle cruisers into fast Atlantic liners.
This Is mechanically possible and
would enable us to salvage . large
part Of the 10000. 900 or more already
put into these vessels in the shape OF
actual construction or material in the
hands Of suboontractors. Our new
merchant marine IL peculiarly def
Client In the very largo and very fest
Atlantic iinsrs. but Il may he decidei
In the end that the cost OF bui;'iins
such vesssis. sven with . good r,,a-
ming start sassd upon the battle
cruiscrs a. thsv ssaas1. b too srsss
20 b. undertahsa as prsssse
scspvv>sss sDoD-0a osss@
- 80
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
Dangerous Disregard.

The first effect Of unduly re.
pressing tho army and navy has
been to remove from their sphere
Of responsibility the highest and
most important part. that Of adapt.
ing the army and navy to the needs
Of the nation. For this reason very
few admirals or generals have taken
the trouble to study the subject.
Most Of them have contented them
selves with doing a. they were tol6
to do by the civil authority.
The second effect has been to de-
privs the people Of that knowledge
Of naval and military dangers. and
consequently Of the requirements OF
the army and navy. which they have
a right to have: since they pay for
tho army and navy.
The third effect has been to de-
privs our statesmen also Of this
knowledge: with the result that
they never learned how to co-or.,
dinate their efforts with those OF
the army and navy. MEN LIKE
WILLIAM PITT CANNOT BE
FOUND IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
THE NET RESULT HAS BEEN
THAT THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT
AND THE ARMY AND NAVY
HAVE NEVER CO-ORDINATED
THEIR EFFORTS, EXCEPT ON
THE ACTUAL OUTBREAK OF
WAR: AND THEN IN THE MOST
HASTY AND THEREFORE, MOST
INEFFICIENT WAY.
We did not enter into the world
war until two years and eight
months after It had begun. DUR
ING ALL THIS TIME, THE ARMY
AND NAVY SAW THE NATION
DRIFT STRAIGHT TOWARD THE
MOST DANGEROUS POSSIBLE
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
.By ADMIRAL FISKE---
(FOreNnOM American NaUaI Str0tegls)
ua All the Civil Officers of the Government Have Been Opposed
h General S and Vet without General Staff No ARMY Navy
a. Can BE Hcicn-e United States Obtained Them Only by Siren
4s mnms Eghf~

SITUATION, FORBIDDEN TO
LIFT A FINGER, OR UTTER A
WORD OF WARNING. The enor.
nous increase of our national debt
is the direct result.
In England. an unreasonable de-
gree Of naturalization brought
about similar effects During the
later years Of the wars with Ma
Holeon. England became the most
important and wealthy nation Of
the world; her army was az fine as
Napoleon's. and her navy incom-
parably finer. Bot the natural re.
action after the long war brought
about excessive anti-militarism.
During the ensuing years Of
peace. its effects were not noticed.
but they were brought into clear
view as soon as the Crimean war
broke out IN 1854. Another long
period Of peace ensued. broken by
the Boer war in 1899. THEN
THE COUNTRY WAS DISGUST
ED BY FINDING ITS ARMY IN
EFFICIENT. TT COULD NOT
HAVE BEEN OTHERWISE. UN.
DER THE SYSTEM IN USE. The
war office had to be radically
reorganizeds
The world war broke out in 1914.
During the intervening time. the
British labored under the erroneous
belief that their navy was kept out
Of politics and maintained at the
very highest peak Of efficiency and
preparedness. But the war showed
that, compared with the navy Of
militaristic Germany. It was neither
efficient nor prepared.
IN FRANCE, EXCESSIVE ANTI.
MILITARISM BROUGHT THE Ma
TON TO THE VERY BRINK OF
THE PRECIPICE OF DISASTER.
After the downfall of Napoleon
III, and the establishment Of the
republic in 1871, a veritable fight
DeSdn DetW0ch tho Hiiheoh SSo che
the anti-militarists. The result was
that. despite Ire sight Of Germany
sharpening her knife in plain view,
the army was never kept in the
necessary degree Of efficiency.
But the army's task was i'm.
measurably easier than the navy's.
because the necessity of keeping
tho navy efficient was not go OBJ
vious to the people. The climax
came when Camille Pelletan. = radi-
cal anti-mflitarist. was made sec.
rotary of the navy. IN FOUR
YEARS PELLETAN RUINED THE
FRENCH NAVY. From that ruin.
the French navy has never risen.
THE RESULT TO FRANCE HAS
BEEN NOT ONLY HER ACTUAL
OBI.ITERATION AS A FIRST.
CLASS POWER. BUT THE DE-
STRUCTION OF HER PROSPER
ITY AND THE EXCESSIVE LOSS
OF LIFE WHICH DEFEAT EN-.
TAILS.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01

Scrapping the fifteen capital ships.
nine battleships and SIX battle cruis-
ers would reduce our tonnage under
construction November / from 1884,
s45 to 176.s45. These fifteen capital
ships have had q checkered career.
Authorized as a whole BY the epoch
making act Of August -. 1915. about
q third Of them were directed to be
begun at once. the other two-thirds
being covered by the acts Of March
4, 1917, and July 4. 1918. But the
exigencies Of the war required them
to be laid aside to build destroyers
and other anti-submarine craft.
After the war there was further de-
lay while the lessons Of the war AZ
regards capital ships were being
studied and applied-resulting in q
complete re-desisn in 1919 of the
battle cruisers.
Nevertheless II we stop work on
these vessels tomorrow. scrap the
vessels and close out the contracts
In the cheapest way. we will spend
on them well over 50 per cent Of
their total cost. Complete with
armor, armament and ammunition
ready for service these fifteen great
vessels would cost US some $3.50, 000,-
600. Secretary Hughes gave US as
their cost IL scrapped s332, 000. 900.
So the ultimate saving by scrapping
them would be at a fair estimate
$21S.0oo.00o. This is substantial
figure but It is doubtful II the or
binary citizen win find an appre-
ciable reduction in his tax bill by
reason Of 1t. True, there will be
large prospective savings In the
future by reason of the fact that
we will not maintain and operate
a navy increased over what we have
at present, but the Hughes plan
does not largely reduce our present
navy and savings as regard Il can
be made only by reducing our active
navy in commission below that left
us under the Hughes plan. gG4y
This is evident at a glance from
the table below, which shows IN
parallel columns arranged accord
ing to the latest classification our
navy fit for service July I, 1912.
November 1. 1921. and as modified
by the Hughes plan:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-01-01
Civilians Are First.

$500 Inc OBSTRUCTION OF Pompey'D mag
~ 11dcsnf army at Pharsalia proves
- sAAt this u true; and It supplies one
- Illustration out Of thousands Of the
k.s1nalsficlsmt sffect Of undue civilian
sssf1fluenos IN military matters.
NO During ne last one hundred
YEARS, there has been Q bitter con-
flot between civilians and officers
m England. France and the United
o. states, which has resulted in civil
IS isns gaining the absolute control
Of their armies and navies- To sup
p6rt their side, tho civilians In
3ented the principle the military
~ d subordinate to the civfl au-
= thority."
This n an admirable saying. 1t
states truism. however; because
me civn authority 10 the authority
Of tho government itself. and every
power and every person is subordi.
nate to II. Every officer IN every
army and navy is subordinate to
the civil authority; but SO is every
Judge. congressman, merchant and
zs1aborer.
Furthermore. the phrase has
FsGradually come to be interpreted 30
y ias actually to put every individual
officer below every individual civil
Jan Of tho Government: 20 that
whatever civilians and officers are
placed together on any board, the
civilians are given precedence and
their names are written first. This
~ n done even when the matter b.
SsY6fe the board II distinctly military
or naval; and regardless Of the re-
spective ages Of the civilians and
the officers, or their relative de-
! srees Of length of Government serv.
Hifcs, experience or fame. According
~ to the precedence code in Washing.
sston. the newest and obscurest mem.
s6ber. Of Congress or assistant secre-
Estary OF any department takes preo-
,ssedence Of General Pershing now.
SIS This may seem unimportant; but
,3ft Is not, because It shows that thu
,spolicy OF making the military sub.
ordinate to the civil authority has
zSneen pushed to an extreme that Is
aSDardly reasonable.
sissfSlsase realize that civil officials
Seal with problems that arise in
speAa tranquil and easy times Of
sspsacc; while officers deal with
4S4nerEsnciss that suddenly threaten
8 ne very life Of the nation. and de-
asnand the most scientifically cor
Fysct and yet most forceful action.
VIE ARMY AND NAVY BEAR
1SJE SAME RELATION TO THE
CIVILIAN OFFICIALS OF A
,sGovERNNTENT THAT THE SUR
"6EON BEARS TO THE PHYSI.
A CLAN. g..