Evening star., 1925-02-19
PRESIDENT URGING
PEACE PRACTICES
Refusal of Navy's Request to
Expand Seen to Presage
Conference Call.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


President Coolidges refusal of the
special Navy boards requisition for
light cruisers, heavy aircraft appro-
priations and elevation of battleship
guns springs from his wish to call an
other naval disarmament conference.
The President wants the United
States TO be in position to say that
this country has given a practical
demonstration of its desire TO curtail
armaments. America led the way at the
first Washington conference by an
nouncing at the outset her readiness
to scrap great battleships. both built
and building. She invited the other
naval powers to follow suit. They
did SO. Mr.. Coolidge hopes and be-
leves that this is the hour for the
United States to give another con-
crete example of its anxiety for dis
armament. He wants America to
practice what she breaches.
While for the moment the Presi-
dents project to invite the military
and naval powers to a second Wash
ington conference Is informal and
tentative, American diplomatic ma
chinery is moving Systematically to-
ward Il formal scheme. The same sort
of "feelers" and "soundings" are TAX
Ign place that preceded President
hardings action in convening the
first conference. For many weeks
prior to July, 1921, when Secretary
Hughes electrified America. Europe
and Asia with an announcement of
the administrators plans, our am
oassadors in London. Paris, Rome and
Toxic were inquiring "unofficially"
Nnether conference would be well
come to the governments in question.
Mr. Coolidge delayed the provisional
soundfngs which his ambassador
nave been making until there was
some definite evidence that the pro-
1ected League of Nations disarma-
ment, security and arbitration con-
ference would or would not take
place. This was to have been held
under the celebrated Geneva proto-
col at league headquarters in June,
1925.
League Hopes Fading.
Within the past 80 days intimations
were given in many capitals, notably
Toxic and London, that faith in the
possibility of the league. conference
was fading. The japanese govern
ment was particularly skeptical about
II. When Mr.. Matsudaira, the new
Nlpponese Ambassador to the United
States, sailed from Japan this week,
the Toxic foreign office allowed it to
be understood that his chief mission
in Washington would be to persuade
America once again to take the dis
armament lead
1t Is for all these reasons that the
Commander-in-Ch of the naval
forces of the republic-Calvin Cool
idge-takes sharp issue with Secre-
tary Wilburs special Navy board,
whose exhaustive report was made
public today. The board recommend
ed that six of our coal-burning bat
tleships should be modernized-that
is. converted into oil burners and
otherwise improved. President Cool
idge says: "Modernize three of
them" The Navy board asked that
seven of our oil-burning battleships
be modernized, as allowed by the
Washington treaty"-that is, have
their guns elevated to the level of
certain British battleships. Mr.. Cool
idge says: NO"
The Navy board urged that eight
10,O00-ton cruisers, already author
lied by Congress, "be built without
delay" Mr.. Coolidge says: Build
two" The Navy board calls for "a
progressive and adequate airplane
building program" which would en-
tail a total expenditure of $4,000. 900
the first year. The President, after
calm consideration of this ambitious
program for building up the naval air
force, utterly ignores it, He has
made no recommendations whatever
to Congress on that score
Makes No Haste.
The Navy board asked that the
completion of our two big aircraft
carriers, the Lexington and Saratoga.
be expedited" Mr.. Coolidge goes no
further than to recommend that con-
struction "be continued"
He ignores the Navy boards
requisition for the building of an
aircraft carrier of about $4,000 tons.
TO be laid down without unneces-
sary delay" Instead of the s2O.0OO.-
coo asked for the first year of an air
craft program, the President favors
simply appropriating 100000 for
airplanes for the Lexington and Sara
toga, plus the s100O,00O already al
lotted to this construction in the 1925
budget.
The President ignores the NAVY
hoard's recommendation that three
meet submarines, already authorized,
1927
Thus Mr.. Coolidge reveals two out
standing and separate policies in con-
nect1on with the Navy boards report.
lie opposes them because he think 8
that their execution would be incon-
slstent with the call for another dis
armament conference. Then he oh
1ects TO them on account of the basis
program to which his administrs
ton is committed, namely, economy.
nrSt, last and all the time and
economy all along the line.