The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1924-11-13
TRIES TO HALT
ship SCRAPPINC
w. 3. Shearer Gets Court Order
on Wilbur to Show Cause Before
Sinking the Washington.
CoMPACTS CALLED INVALID
Battleship Doomed Under Arms Trea-
ty-Has Not Been Ratified, It
Is Argued, and British Navy
Exceeds Limitations.

MISUNDERSTANDING Justice VIII
liam Hitz of the Supreme Court OF the
District of Columbia signed an order
directing Secretary Wilbur of the navy
to appear in court and show cause
why he should not be restrained from
destroying the superintendent
Washington, one o the new American
first line battleships, the scrapping of
which is provided for in the arms con-
ference naval limitation treaty.
The action was brought by William
B. Shearer, who sues as a citizen and
taxpayer alleging that the destruction
Of the Washington will work great
and irreparable injury" to the navy
and result in the loss Of a vast amount
of money to the nation. Mr.. Shearer
further alleges that the arms confer
ence treaties were not properly rati-
fed and that some of the signatories
to the naval treaty are not living up to
the letter of the agreement. Hence no
further scrapping of American battle
ships should be carried out at present.
Until he has seen the papers in the
case Secretary Wilbur will not make
any comment.
. The ashington left the Philadel-
phia navy yard for the Virginia Capes,
where it is proposed she be sunk in
experimental bombing and target prac-
tice at a point about sixty miles east
Of Cape Charles. High explosive
borbs will be placed in the water at
designated distances around the bat
tlesEip and detonated to ascertain the
effect Of such explosives on the hull
of the warship. If after this the vessel
remains afoat she will be sunk by
target fire. She Is to be scrapped, in
other words, by experimental attack.
Mr.. Shearer appeared in court nix
ed by big array of counsel. Follow
ing the action of Justice Hitz he an
nOunced that he was going to make it
a finish fight. When the action comes
up for argument, he asserted, he will
offer witnesses OF the highest stand
iEg who will substantiate every allie
cation made in the complaint. On the
other hand, the navy department does
not seem to be greatly worried over
the case and apparently does not ex-
pect any considerable delay in carry
ing out the obligation 1t understands
to be imposed on the department IN
der the terms of the naval treaty.
In the complaint Mr.. Shearer is
named as the plaintiff and Secretary
Wilbur as the defendant. Mr.. Shearer
is described in the document as a resi-
dent of New York and a taxpayer.
He Is further described as a qualified
naval expert and as the inventor of a
war craft known as the Sea Hornet, a
one man torpedo boat, which, it is
stated. was bought by this government
during the World War and met all the
tests Of the department.
The papers In the case were filed by
Wilton y. Lambert, William E. Leahy,
Martin ]. Mcnamara and Rudolph H.
Yeatman, Washington lawyers, Mr.
Lambert being in charge for the plain
tiff. In the order signed by Justice
Hitz, Secretary Wilbur Is directed to
be in court prepared to show why his
orders to destroy the Washington
should not be Cancelled.
In the papers setting forth his case
Mr.. Shearer asks that the United
States battleship Washington, as
therein described, remain intact In
good order; that no part Of the battle
ship be touched or any part removed,
machinery or otherwise, and that the
vessel be kept in the best condition
possible and not allowed to suffer de-
terioration or neglect.
Construction Of the Washington was
authorized on Aug. 20, 1916, and the
contract signed Jan. II, 1917. The
ships keel was laid in the New York
Ship building Company's yards st
Camden, N. j., on June 80, 1919, and
the Washington was launched on Sept.
/, 1921 She is Of 1880 tons, with a
length of 500 feet and beam of c7.3h
feet carries eight sixteen-inch It's,
twelve fve-inch guns, eight three-inch
guns and is designed for a personnel
of sixty-six officers 1856 men.