The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-18
IS DEFENSE
William Philip Simms

WASHINGTON. Dec. U Congress over
rides the express wishes of President Coolidge and
likewise replaces some of the items omitted from the
budget, the national defense is in for a dangerous
slump.
Particularly is the navy menaced. Experts like
Capt. Dudly w. Knox. u. s. N, retired, openly assert
that II sea power as a whole Is considered-and it is
sea power, not capital ship tonnage, that wins wars
the United States is already inferior to Great Britain
by 30 per cent.
Visibly, Congress is alarmed. Admittedly is It in
a mood to remedy the situation II It can. But, OBJ
viously. it is extremely difficult to make a determined
stand against a president Of its own political COM
plexon. The outlook, therefore, is none too bright.
Only in one respect does the United States hold
its own with the other Washington pact naval powers,
namely, in capital ships. on paper we are strong in
destroyers, but actually most of these crafts are war
built and Of doubtful value. AS for the rest, we are
simply behind the procession.
In light cruisers, in modern aircraft carriers, in
airplanes, in hghter-than-ar crafts we range all the
way from second to a poor fourth, with Britain, Japan
and France leading by a shameful margin.
At the Washington conference we entered into an
agreement with the leading powers, which we optimist-
ically accepted as meaning the lot of us would main
tain our respective sea power at a definite ratio.
Since then we have virtually stood still, save where
we actually went backward, while all the other
nations have engaged in naval and aircraft programs
which are little short of startling.
Since the Washington Arms Conference Britain
has built, or is building, fifty-four light cruisers of
332, 900 tons total, and Japan twenty-five Of 156, 205
tons total. against fifteen for the United States, total
ing $4,000 tons.
Britain has built or is building thlrtyone large
fleet submarines and Japan twenty, against our nine.
We have one completed aircraft carrier-really
merely an experiment ship-and two building, for a
total Of rs, 700 tons, against six for Great Britain, with
a tonnage OF 1O4, 400, and three for Japan with SO, 800
tons.
In the matter of airplanes we are far behind, no
body seems to know just how far, for the simple
reason that many of our planes are obsolete models
! and unfit for active service.
OF rigid ~dirigibles we have exactly one. the Los
Angeles. Blmps-the little non-rigids-are not to be
counted.
Congress in 1924 laid down a comprehensive
though in no wise competitive, building program for
both sea and air craft. But President Coolidge is op-
posed to carrying 1t out at this time because he hopes
a new arms limitation conference might make the
5-5-9 ratio applicable to subsidiary craft as well as to
capital ships and carriers.
Congress last session authorized the building of
Zeppelin dirgibles OF approximately twice the size of
the Los Angeles, or 6,O00,0 900 cubic feet. But the budget
now before Congress contains no provision even for
starting work on either Of them.
1t is now common knowledge that had Spain been
a first class power back in 1898 she would have won
the panish-American war without the slightest
trouble. The late President Roosevelt showed how
ridiculously unprepared America was.
We are now slipping back into a relative similar
state OF unpreparedness, and only a courageous
Congress can save the country from it.