Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-07-30
Proposed Expenditure of S.
100000 Pounds Sterling
Passed Despite Protests OF
Liberals and Laborites -
Point Out No War in Sight
Navy Fast Wearing Out,
Answer of Govt.-Declare is
Only Sober, Yet Solid De-
fence Program

London. July 2s.-(AP)-The house
OF commons tonight put its stamp of
approval on the governments cruiser
building program after the Liberals
and Laborites had sought to have the
appropriations for new warships re-
duced on the ground that there was no
naval war in sight and therefore there
was no need to burden the already
heavily taxed country with an addI-
tional expenditure of 5S,OO0.O0O pounds
sterling.
Ramsay Macdonald, former Labor
premier, moved a reduction of the
shipbuilding vote, but the house re-
jected his proposal by vote of 276
to lao.
There was a great deal of talk about
potential trouble in the Pacific, but
Winston Churchill, chancellor of the
exchequer. and the other government
spokesmen avoided this subject. The
chancellor. in his official statement re-
specting the new cruiser building pro-
gram, said there was only one menace
that the fleet was wearing out
Several speakers with no govern
ment portfolios to incline them to
vagueness had much to say about pos
sible trouble between the United
States and Japan and also about the
tendency of the French to increase
their submarine strength.
Mr.. Macdonald, discussing war pos
sibilities, declared that nobody would
saw that the United States and Japan
were possible enemies. So far as
France was concerned, If anybody
imagined her possible enemy the
problem was not naval, but one OF the
air primarily, or of coordination OF
land, sea and air forces. He seemed
to think it pity that there was no
indication that the government was
doing anything regarding disarma-
ment conference.
Former Premier Lloyd George con-
tended there was no menace In Europe
to Justify the new cruiser program
and he asked the government to say
,,ba+har there was a menace through
tho trade routes on the Pacific whicn
Justified It in imposing a burden ol
"a O00. 900 pounds sterling on the peo-
Pile. ory
periI in the Paclnc IN tHe heAt ~
YEARS in which the United states VIII
rot y. far more involved than we are
ana an the same side?" he asked.
chancellor Churchill, in detehoins
h;s stand. said he thought the progra"
M ,pore than any reasonable man
would regard as necessary for the So
her vet solid, defense OF our perlii"-
nent naval possessions.
Rear Admiral Sueter. superlnteh,, /,
aant of aircraft construction, declareo
tbat friction might arise at any tiine
between Japan and the oh,'eo $3.50
and he added, I'VE m1ghl pe uiaeeee
in in the same way as America ms'
ara peed into the Great War. lie fnaue
refereflce to the hurt feelings whi.h
tho Jspanese experienced because tne
I1nited states threw overpoaro .he
,,ontIemen's agreement" and asserteo
that the Japanese did not like the
VOYAGE of the American armada from
pearl Harbor to Australia. Admlrai
Sueter urged a round table conferences
to consider "wiping out the pa'lle-
shin. which he looked upon as prae-
tica1lv out-of-date naval weapon
Major Sir Bertram Falle, ConserNa-
.;ya complained because Great Brl-
tair ranks third in naval power in the
pacific. He even went so FAR as TO
ask the members of the house II thes
could be sure about Americas frleno-
shin. He had a notion that the Unlted
States might be coveting Jamaica, or
Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Falkland
Islands, or even Canada.