The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-21
WILBUR ORDERED TO START STUDY OF NAVAL FORCE.
Coolidge Prepares For
 .,Coordinated Program ...... <, Of Development

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20.-At the suggestion of President Coolidge, Sec retary Wilbur today began a compre- hensive study of the relative value of each arm of the national defense under the Navy Department with view to recommending co-Ordinated program for development during the next several years. The work is to be taken up later by board of experts, which prob ably will include representatives of the other services as well as key civilian industries.
 The new study of the navy was de- termined upon at a White House con ference which lasted about an hour. MT. Wilbur at its conclusion said he had rendered report on his five weeks inspection of the fleet and naval shore stations on the west coast and of the political situation there as he had ob- served it.
 Speeches Not Discussed
 The secretary declared his speeches during the period had not been dis cussed at the conference and the only explanation given for the Presidents request that he return to the capital was that a new valuation of air, sub marine and surface craft of the navy was necessary with a view to adjusting the sums to be sought for each from the budget.
 Being certain that this was the mat ter in view, Mir. Wilbur said, he had instructed Walter R. Gherardi, his aide. who is recognized as an expert upon aviation, to prepare a memorandum during the return trip setting forth the accepted, view of the service. This was presented President Coolidge today as 'sbasis for the study. It drew the conclusion that the fleet should be maintained at top efficiency, with the strength allotted in accordance with the limitation of arms treaty while every effort was made to develop and organ ize the air forces as q concrete auxil- iary.
 In explanation of his own opinon, the secretary referred to a recent speech in which he declared ''the bat tleship still is the backbone of national defense" This was the view expressed two years ago by the joint army and navy board headed. by General Persh- ing and is said to be adhered to by vet eran strategists in both departments despite the progress in aviation.
 Secretary Wilbur believed much of the adverse comment regarding his re- cent speeches was the result of mis- quotations. No criticism of the Japa- nese had been voiced in his address at Seattle, he asserted, but on the con- trary, the entire speech was designed to be "conciliatory."
 .. Meant For Lawyers
 Similarly, he said the catalina speech had been misinterpreted as an attack upon prohibition, when it was intended merely to point the extreme to which non-observance of political rights could be carried. That address was made, he said, to an assemblage of lawyers who clearly perceived its import.
 The secretary, who came here last night, cutting short his western speak ing tour after being asked by President Coolidge to return, visited the White House early in the day and was received by Mir. Coolidge in his study. He talked freely of his trip and of his western addresses afterwards, but said he would refuse to discuss personalities in connection with the California polit- ical situation. He predicted California would go for Coolidge and Dawes if the preset method of campaigning was con- tinued. He asserted that complete harmony prevailed.
 After his conference with the Presi- dent, Secretary Wilbur went to his of flee at the navq department, where he busied himself for the remainder of the day in conferences with his associates there on naval questions, including that of the budget, which had brought dis agreement with the budget bureau.
 <.? Gherardi's NOta
 Captain Gherardi's memorandum to the secretary said:
 Aviation advances does not justify us in allowing our IS battleships or any of them to deteriorate, using money thus saved to build up aviation"
 ''Three types of aircrafts," he said, should be developed. (A.) Flying boats for long range scouting and bombing. (B.) Amphibians and single pontoon planes, for spotting, and for close protection of the fleet against submarine or destroyer attacks. co Twin pontoon planes for torpedo planes, but these should be considered as sec ondary to the first two"