Evening star., 1925-05-12
STRONGER HAWAII
MAY Be BLOCKED
Coolidge Economy Believed
to Stand in Way OF Ad-
ditionaI DefenseS.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
President Coolidge's determination
TO reduce next years Federal budget
by $500. 900 900 BODIES i'll for the Navy's
desire to expend another $25.O0o.o00 or
$50, 100000 on defenses in Hawah.
Military and naval authorities seem TO
be agreed that the recent maneuVers
at Hawaii demonstrated the strong
advisability of strengthening the pro-
tective resources of the islands. But
whether the admirals and the generals
will be able to convince Mr.. Coolidge
on this score remains to be seen.
Washington officialdom expects vigor-
ous exchanges of opinion between the
administration and the defense eX-
perts before the President is convinced
that the United States needs the
strongest outpost in the world IN
Hawaii. as recommended by Chairman
Butler of the House naval committee.
Mr.. Coolidge delayed fixing date
for the start of the Summer vacation
in order to he in Washington for the
semi-annual budget meeting of the
Government business organization on
,June % The President is expected
on that occasion to outline in detail
how and where he thinks $500, 100000
can most easily be slashed from the
1926 bill of national expenditure.
There have been categorical state
ments in circulation that Mr.. Coolidge
thinks Army and Navy appropriations
are fields in which retrenchment can
be effected. Some of these statements
attribute to the President the inten-
rion of urging drastic cuts In them in
his first message to the Sixty ninth
Congress.
Previous Heavy Cut.
As recently as last February Mr..
Coolidge rejected a number of urgent
recommendations for expansion of
the fleet, made by a special Navy
board consisting of seven admirals
and the commandant of the Marine
Corps. The carrying out of the pro-
gram recommended by the special
board called for an annual eXpendi-
ture of SS0,000,000 for three years.
The President forwarded to Congress,
after minute study of the special
boards request, estimates that called
for only about 80 per cent of the
recommenda tions it contained He
ignored entirely the recommendation
of "a progressive airplane building
program" at an initial cost of 500
000, 900 for the first year. The Navy
= board asked for immediate cOnstruc-
ton of eight 10,000ton cruisers. Mr..
Coolidge advised Congress to vote
money for only two.
Three major reasons are assigned
as the motives likely to impel Presi
dent Coolidge to disapprove of ex-
tensive new naval expenditures at
this time. These are:
l. His belief that there is nothing
in the international situation, either
in the Pacific or in Europe, to justify
any considerable increase in Amerf-
can naval armament.
.. A definite conviction that any
move by the United States in the di-
rection of additional armament ex-
penditure would compromise the ad
ministration's eager, though tempo
rarily checked, desire sooner or later
TO bring about a further limitation
of armaments by international agree
ment
8. A realization that increased out
lay on the Army, Navy or air force,
or on any other Federal department,
without urgent and manifest rea-
son, would be incompatible with the
Coolidge economy program.
Fleet Is Efficient.
Editorial opinion throughout the
country is to the effect that the
Navy's battle exercises around Hawaii
showed that the United States fleet
is in splendid condition-well officered,
well manned and well equipped-rather
than demonstrating that the Hawaiian
Islands are 'defenseless." Members
of Congress, who are still in Washing
ton by the dozen, are inclined to agree
with editors that sham war operations
against mythical enemy, while i'm
measureably valuable for training pur-
pose, are far from capable of proving
that existing protective measures in
men and material are inadequate In
quiries made by this writer on Capitol
Hill indicate that this is the line that
will be taken in Congress next Winter
If the Navy and War Departments
ask for substantial increases in ap-
preparations based on the recent
battle of Hawaii
1t is an open secret that the admin
'fstration is bent upon doing every
thing within it's power to propitiate
Japan, with due consideration to
&. American dignity and interests. Pres
sident Coolidge refused to listen to
protests against holding the recent
lmaneuverS in Hawaii and dispatching
the feet upon the forthcoming trans
spacific cruise to Australia and New
Zealand. Advocates of the cancella-
rtion of these plans pleaded that Japan
tNouiu pc OllSIiueu, anu perhaps even
provoked, if they were carried out
These arguments made no impression
:on Mr.. Coolidge. But he is equally
hostile to any armament policy that
would unnecessarily arouse Japanese
fears or aggravate relations that have,
in reality, never been quite the same
vas they were before enactment of
Japanese exclusion, in May, 1924.
Arms Farley Postponed
Mr.. Coolidge has recently become
aware that conditions are not favora-
BILE to the convening of another dis
armament conference in the early flu
ture. He has therefore temporarily
pigeonholed that plan. But he has
mot abandoned it. Every recent ut
'terance of his on the subject has
made plain that he would not easily
be persuaded to countenance fresh
american armament expenditure. ALI
of those utterances reveal Mr.. Cool
idge as still committed to the policy
he laid down in his message to Con-
gress last December, which in very
stern language set forth that he
would resist any attempt to resort
to the old standard of dealing with
other countries by terror and force"
In his inaugural address on March
of this year the President asserted
that the people of this country do
not need to maintain great military
forces"