Evening star., 1923-09-16

other officers were aboard during part
OF all of the trip and took part In
Rear Admiral James F. Dayton. who
went to Panama and relieved Rear
| Admiral w. G. Cole, who continued
with the party; Maj. Gen. w. c.
| Neville, en- route to his new post in
| command of the marines on the west
| coast: Capt. J. NJ. Enochs and Com
| mander Walter A. Smead.
The daily meetings were strictly
business. All available data was
taken by Admiral Gregory and the
complete as the committee meetings
at the Capitol ordinarily are. As the
| subsequent visits at the various
naval stations were such as to Illus
| trate the matters which had been up
| for discussion, the congressman were
able to vizualize clearly the difficult
J ties of the problems before the Navy.
AS the result of the trip II is felt
in naval circles that much progress
! was made in preparation for the sub
| mission of the questions of providing
for the shore establishments before
Congress by giving the members of
the naval affairs committee fiEst-hand
Information as to the Nays need
| that will enable them to prepare the
| necessary legislation on a strictly
business basis.
officers and men of the Navy and
Marine Corps have received through
Secretary DENLY card from Mrs.
Harding, expressing her deep appre-
citation of their expressions of SYM
pathy, as well as their tribute of
| flowers to their dead Commander-in-
Chief.
Suggestion has been made to the
bureau of aeronautics that the ZR-1,
the Nayy's first capital ship of the
air, be christened the United States,
following the precedent established
when the American Navy was first
| frigates which formed the beginning
of our present Navy, originally COM
manded by John Barry, bore this
name, and the originators of the idea
to so christen the new Leviathan of
| the air believe II appropriate to have
| as her namesake the first of what
may in the future develop into Amer
, lean air fleet.
Rear Admiral H. H. Rousseau. En-
gineer Corps, U. S. N, has returned
| TO Washington after six weeks duty
| as senior member of the board ap-
| pointed by the Secretary of the Navy
| to settle on just compensation for
the Navy's use and occupancy of the
property within East Camp, Hampton
! roads. Va. The board conducted its
hearings and Investigations at the
naval operating base, Hampton roads.
| and has nearly completed its work.
The report Is expected at an early
| date.
Navy people are waiting with much
interest detailed reports from naval
officers in the far east on theF extent
of the Japanese disaster and the part
played by American naval forces in
the relief work. Failure or inability
on the part of Admiral E. A. Ander-
son to wireless to the department any
| information as to what his force has
| been doing has left officials here in
| the dark, though isolated press dis
patches have shown the Navy Is play
| ing the brilliant peacetime role il
always plays in times of great dis
asters when the call is made on 1t.
There is deep undercurrent of in
terest too in the unconfirnsS reports
that Japan suffered trssnenduous
losses to her naval strength. though
| the impression prevails that these
reports have been greatly magnified,
especially those referring to the bat
tleships and other warships believed
| lost. Other press reports indicate
that the active feet was cruising
well away from the scene of the
disaster and 1t is believed that If
warships were lost they were in the
lmain, the older ships laid UP. like so
many of our decommtssioned ships
are.
The most serious military loss.
naval authorities believe, will be
found done to her naval bases, a
blow that will be sadly felt, owing
| to the limited number of yards
capable of constructing the larger
ships. Under the terms of the naval
treaty of the armament conference
Japan will be free to replace any
warships lost in the disaster that she
was permitted to retain by the treaty.
In the case of battleslfps she would
be at liberty to replace them with
modern fighting craft up to $4,000
standard ton displacement and carry
ing sixteen-inch guns either in the
immediate future or at any timo dur
ing the ten-year life of the treaty.
No attempt, however, shas been
made by the department to ascertain
the facts as to Japan's naval losses
as the first concern of departmental
officials, like that of the rest of the
country, has been to help carry on
the relief work and assist the
stricken nation to begin her work of
commercial rehabilitation.
Lieuts. II. W. Johnson and Allen
Hoar, Engineer Corps, L. S. N, have
been selected for assignment TO
pursue the course Of instruction at
the Army Engineers School, at Fort
lHumphries. The course started yes