Evening star., 1925-02-24
ONLY STRONG NAVY
CAN HOLD ENGLAND
OFF, SAYS PHELPS
Admiral Warns Shipping
Fight Is Leading to "Con-
fIiCt" With British.
WILBUR DEFENDS AIR
POSITION OF AMERICS
Tells Women's Defense Conference
U. S. Is Maintaining Strength to
Meet All Contingencies.

meet All ContinSencleS.
The United States can only be pre-
vented from Conflict" with England
by a strong Navy, Rear Admiral W.
| w. Phelps, L. s. N, a member of the
! Navy General Board. told the Wom
ems Conference on National Defense
as Peace Insurance this afternoon in
! the third days session of a four-day
! conference at American Red Cross
headquarters arranged by 16 patriotic
| women's organizations.
| Serious differences are brewing
with England over shipping policies"
Admiral Phelps said. These differ
ences can be prevented from de-
veloping into a conflict only by q.
strong Navy" Admiral Phelps added
! that England is carrying on through
| its shipping interests an active cam
| paign against American shipping
| for daring to think of contesting
England's monopoly"
Wilbur Talks of Planes.
A few moments before the more
| than one hundred delegates TO the
! conference heard Secretary of the
| Navy Wilbur declare that If bomb
/ ing planes can sink battleships, we
! want bombing planes to sink the
| battleships of our enemy and We
| want anti-aircraft guns on our
! battleships and aircraft to protect
! our battleships."
I'VE not only want them and need
! them, but we have and are getting
| them" Secretary Wilbur added.
Reviewing the progress of the
| Navy in an address in which he de-
a mil liaTt has not
rived, Mr.. Wilbur said the Navy has
| developed its aircraft and has been
! operating spotting, torpedo and
/ bombing planes, building it's aircraft
| carriers and getting necessary ap-
! propriations for aircraft for these
! carriers while all the public clamor
! concerning the relative value of air
| craft and service ship has been going
/ on The officers who learned the
! elements of their profession in the
/ old Navy have anticipated in their
! imagination and their effort the more
| tardy cry of those who have recently
had their attention drawn to air
! craft"
Against Disarmament.
For great nation like America
! amply able to sustain its will for
| good, and to- sustain and protect it's
peaceful missionaries of righteous
] AANSS ON Sl NLtI c. anu 10 duNduC0 JUS
| tice and righteousness in the world
! for such a nation to disarm and sub
side into pusillanimous incompetence
to advocate or maintain justice would
| be crime against God and man."
Admiral Phelps foresaw within an
! other generation a time when the
| Navy will be so weak in the western
! Pacific that ii will be incapable of
! preventing the conquest and subju-
! cation of the Philippines, declaring
! that our ideal of fitting the Philip
pines for self government and even
! tual independence is in vital
conflict with the aggressive policies
of the imperialistic powers who be-
lieve in subjugating the weaker
peoples of the world"
/ Characterizing the policies of the
/ United States as defensive policies,
| Admiral Phelps said we find" that
I each of the other great powers has
aggressive foreign policies looking
! to acquiring sources of raw materials
! and markets for their manufactured
! products. So we can say that the
| policies of each of the other great
powers are aggressive" he added.
Primary Purpose Defense.
The Navy primarily is designed and
maintained for the purpose of nation
| al defense, Rear Admiral L. w.
/ Eberle, chief of naval operations, told
the conference. History has proven
time and again that no nation, how
| ever desirous of peace, can hope to
escape occasional collisions with
other powers and therefore the sound
| est dictates of policy require that
we keep ourselves ready to assert our
rights should a resort to force be-
come necessary the Navy ade-
quately maintained is the surest
guaranty of peace that we possess
the best guaranty against war.
the cheapest and most effective peace
insurance. The cost of maintaining
such a Navy represents the very high
est premium for insuring peace which
this Nation can possibly pay"
Admiral Eberle urged on the con-
ference "a continued active interest
in the Navy and its problems so that
you can do your large part in edu-
eating the people of our country to
the need for the Navy and the needs of
the Navy and that efficient prep
aration for war in times of peace
alone can insure an enduring peace.
Calls All Treaties Entangling.
Even though the policy of the
United States, Admiral Phelps said.
has been one of no entangling al
liances, he declared every alliance,
| every treaty that we have made has
| been an entangling alliance, ana
foresaw the day within another
generation when our own oil pools
are drained ." your Navy and
merchant marine will be at England's
mercy for fuel"
You will be glad to be allowed to
buy your gasoline at 81 gallon.
united America back of the State De-
partment and a strong Navy to en-
force our rights would have secured
for us our share in the worlds oil
resources Now 1t is too late"
According to my way of thinking,
one of the primary objectives of the
League of Nations, under the leader
ship OF England, is to devise some
policy to destroy the American
favorable balance of trade. / have
no doubt that all of Europe that has
the products of cheap labor to market
will heartily join with England in
this objective of destroying the
American favorable trade balance"
Admiral Phelps added that our i'm
migration laws have added fuel to
the fire of animosity felt toward us
by the over populated peoples of the
world. and may expect that these
peoples will continue to batter at our
defensive bulwark with what is
known as diplomatic offensive"
so long as the United States IL
(Continued on PAGE q Column 81