The Washington times., 1924-12-17

PSlnk or disable them! III we COM
mand the air, and IL we have a big
submarine fleet we will menace our
enemy.
The offensive is the best de-
fensive.
II we have powerful air forces
and submarines, no fleet will dare
to cross the sea to attack us, and
it logically follows that without
these two forces our fleet can not
cross the sea to attack the enemy,
nor can it meet his fleet upon the
high seas with the slightest hope
of success.
Ignores Submarine.
Not only does this bill fail utterly
to take any account whatever of
the vital importance of air forces,
using bombs, torpedoes, mines and
poison gas as demonstrated by de-
velopment since the Armistice, but
it likewise ignores the record of
the submarine in the world war.
Submarines sank sixty-two OF the
1874 ships lost by the British navy.
They sank eight big French and
Italian ships. They sank. the
dreadnaught Audacious. They sank
the Hampshire with Kitchener on
board. They drove the allied fleet
away from the Dardanelles. They
were the only craft that dared pene-
trate into the Baltic or the Sea Of
Marmosa. They sank IL 200, 900 tons
of merchant ships and brought
England to the verge Of starvation.
They crossed the Atlantic and sank
fifty ships on our coast. The Ger
man submarine fleet, manned by
only 10000 men fought the combined
navies of the world manned by more
than 1000, 900 men, and came within
an ace Of winning the war. Jellicoe
told Sims in April, 1917; I'VE can.
not go on with the war If these
losses continue"
And YET, IN the face of the awful
fact of a great war, the United
States hasS no modern submarines,
and the bill just passed, ignores
the weapon that nearly brought the
British Empire and the whole world
to ignominious defeat.
Is there any such thing as logic
in our naval policy?
Is the truth or history of no
account?
Can naval experts and Congress
itself neither see, nor hear the APP
proach of the storm that sounds
the wreck of oul navy If it ever
goes into another war against a
nation that provides itself with a
modern fighting fleet?
There is too little space to cover
this subject. Economy, however,
cannot be forgotten. 1t is a condi-
ton forced upon us. 1t is not a
theory. The budget cannot be evaded.
Waste cannot be justified. The
needs of the navy are so vital that
the people must be awakened.
They may give us the important
items If we stop waste.
Gunboats Needed.
1t is agreed that the gunboats
should be Immediately built. They
are needed for the routine Of peace.
The item is small. And It is also
true that we do need cruisers. If
money without limit were available
we should build fifty cruisers at
once. But money is not available,
and we need airplane carriers and
submarines vastly more than we
need cruisers just at present. In
the submarine ratio and the air
ratio we find our weakness. It is
these two ratios that our Navy is
helpless today. We need not less
than $500, 100000 for submarines
and air forces. Every penny should
be spent on these weapons
And another forgotten fact: We
have $500, 100000 worth Of modern
destroyers rusting at docks. II
these destroyers were manned and
added to our fleet they would be
equal to twenty cruisers in battle.
Shall we virtually ignore or de.
stroy $400, 900, 900 worth of fighting
ships and. build new cruisers that
are Of less use IN battle?
Every admiral at Jutland turned
away from destroyers.
They did not fear nor turn away
from cruisers.
We have twice as many destroy.
ers as the combined fleets OF Ger.
many and England in that battle.
And we permit these ships to rust
at our docks.
Why not use them, instead of
spending more millions on new
ships.