Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-10-27
common SENSE IS
FINE BUT LET'S
HAVE SOME Of IT
Now WorId Be Fine Time To
Practice Il, Says Harry
Hunt
BY HARRY 2. HUNT
NEA Service Writer

WASHINGTON, Oct 27.-Now.
would seem to &c fine time for|
the prat.ce of hat economy o"d
common sense" i'm government
which one hears SO much about oU..
secs so little OF here in Washing
ton.
Tied up at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard is the partially completed
creadnought Washington, one OF
the most costly ships ever laid down
bv the Uniter States navy.
A fighting ship of $4,000 IONS,
designed to carry eight l6-mc1
guns. some S20,000,oQ0 were spen,
on her before the conference on
limitation Of armament listed her,
because incompleted, among the yes
sells to be scrapped by Uncle Sam.
Now it is announced that the
Washington is to be sent to wa
terry grave off the Virginia cape IN
December at the annual navy ma
neuvers and target practice
She will be used as q thing toi
drop bombs on, mark for gum
ners to fire at, until she fills with,
brine and goes down.
While Uncle Sam is permitting theI
navy to use this great hulk, con-
tanning thousands Of tons Of steel I
end materials chat would repay
many times the cost Of salvagmg /
even for sale as scrap, as target /.
for a forenoon's demonstration" |
the British government. also follow
ing a policy Of Economy" is spend
ing hundreds Of thousands Of dol
lars in raising the German warshjpa |
sunk off Scapa Flow in order that /
the materials in them may be saliva
ged.
One or the other Of the two gov
ernments must be "out Of step |
with the economy tune. If il isl
worth the British governments !
while to raise, at great expense, the
hulks Of the scuttled German feet
for the materials they contain, Ger
tainly the thorough salvaging of q |
ship already tied up beside a CON
struction pier ought to yield equa! |
savings.
If the sinking Of the dismanted |
Washington under navy bombs or
gunfre was to prove anything more |
than that bombers and gunners can |
lit the mark, it might be conceded
as worth while. But it will not,
In tests already made, in watch
certain Of our own obsolete ships
and others of the surrendered Ger
man feet were used as targets the
ability of aerial bombs to wreck anal
send to the bottom the most
staunchly built battleships was prov
en- to the satisfaction of all the eX-
perts.
Likewise the ability of modernI
projectiles to penetrate the heavi-
est armorplate with which ship
can be burdened was demonstrated. |
The proposed tests viii add moth |
ing to knowledge already gained on
these subjects.
$
Many officials and Navy League
enthusiasts, however, insist thai the i
sinking Of the Washington, as seine
duled, is most important.
And, from their viewpoint, 1ath-
er than the viewpoint of the average
taxpayer, that doubtless will be trac.
The demonstration" win come
shortly after Congress reconveaes,
when the new navy appropriation
bill will be in the early stages of
consideration in committee.
The attack" on the Washington
and hM destruction by bombs and
gunfrea Twill be spectacular. It will
make good pictures and good
copy" 1t will bring the navy and
the nayB program much publicity.
No Such attention, of course /
would iie paid to bullseyes scored oni
p canyas target or to bombs dropped
on an outlined battleship.
Because of the publicity ana in