Omaha daily bee., 1922-02-16

Drop
Navy Glass
House Committee Agrees to
Recommend Annapolis Grad.
uates TO BE Turned Back
10 Civil Life.
Plan to Shave Estir. $

Washington, Feb. L. ,,N ~
naval committee, in try N,sN dis
cover some way OF redue'N appro-
priations for the naval establishment
next year. was reported today TO have
agreed informally 20 recommend that
the frs, class at Annapolis TO be
graduated in June, be turned back 10
civil life without commissions in the
navy.
Although members declined 10
discuss this proposal. il is understood
that such recommendation probably
will be made, along with the further
proposal that the number OF men to
DC admitted to the academy each year
be reduced from FIVE to two for each
member OF congress. Secretary eDn-
by proposed that the reduction to be
cut on congressional allotment
from five TO three.
There are about $40 members OF
the first class. all OF whom naturally
expected to be sent TO sea. A conf
mitteeman. urging that the entire
class be dropped, declared final de-
cision on this question would be
reached at the earliest possible time,
in order to let the midshipmen know
whether they could expect TO remain
on the government payroll.
Plan to Cut Appropriation.
While the committee continued to-
day to hear naval experts tell OF the
needs for the next fiscal year under
what they described as "the treaty
navy house members were can
vassing among themselves in an ef-
fort to find how much could be cut
from Secretary Denby's estimate OF
$350,000,000 for the next fiscal year.
On all sides it was admitted that
the drive for a reduction from that
figure was gaining headway, although
many leaders insisted that TO cut
much under the DENLY estimate
would put the navy below the ratio
rating fixed by the arms conference.
The figure most persistently men
toned as the most probably to be set
by the appropriations committee
which will frame the navy BILL was
$250,000,000. There were many claims
by little navy men," demanding
drastic cuts, that the house, at least,
would not stand for more than $780,
100000. .-
Scrap Treaty Navy"
In asking for $350,0Oo,000, secre-
tary DENLY explained that this
amount would give the navy an en-
listed personnel Of 10000 or 10000
less than fixed by the last appropria-
ton bill. Nobody in authority was
prepared to say offhand what the en-
listed personnel would be if only
$200,000.000 was allowed, although all
agreed it would scrap the treaty
navy" and give it an actual strength
less than that allotted by the confer
ence to- Japan.
The committee, it is said, probably
will ask congress to repeal the law
under which officers are not per-
mitted to be associated with concerns
contracting to supply naval supplies
or war materials to the government.
Representative Macarthur, republican,
Oregon, a member of the committee,
said there was strong sentiment in
the committee for such a move, as
it would open the way for a larger
number of retirements. = .
Big outside influences a'caady are
developing, according to reports, for
retention of many OF the nayy's shore
stations which are certain to be
abandoned or curtailed. Chairman
Butler declared that the same polit-
ical influences which brought about
the establishment OF many yards and
stations are at work now to keep
them from being destroyed. As
sistant Secretary Roosevelt told the
committee, however, that the de-
partment was not prepared to say
at this time what stations might be
curtailed, all depending on the ap-
Dropriation.