Evening star., 1927-03-13

representatives of the United States
Great Britain and Japan, meeting II
Geneva next June, will seek to III
limits for the cruisers and other aux
iliary navy vessels.
AS a result of the Washington
conference. in 1921-22, limitation has
been placed upon the capital ships o
these nations--and of France anC
Italy, too. The proposed three-powei
conference is to negotiate treaty
relating to the auxiliary craft, supple
mentary to the Washington naVa
limitation treaty.
The United States, with financia
strength for navy building far eA
ceeding that of any of the other pow
ers. has deliberately done little OF
nothing I'm naval construction since
the negotiation of the Washington
treaty. But neither Great Britain
nor Japan has been idle in this period
The consequence is that, with the eX'
ception of it's destroyers, the United
States has fallen far below the
strength of Great Britain in cruisers
and other auxiliary vessels, and In
the matter of cruisers is below Japan.
Since France and Italy have de-
clined, so far, to enter into a naval
limitation agreement that does not at
the same time provide for land and
air strength limitation, the writer will
confine the comparison of naval
strength to the three nations which
are expected to take part in the con-
ference.
Effect of Limitation.
If the present building activities of
Great Britain and Japan are halted
or limited by the proposed naval linn
itation agreement, then, at least, it
hn nVnnnfn6 fhn limited States
will fall no further behind these
naval powers than Ii is today.
Indeed, the hope of those who be-
lieve in an adequate Navy for the
United States is that the conference
may awaken the country to the need
of a Navy building program which
will make the American Navy as
strong as that of Great Britain. At
the Washington conference the prop
osition was laid down that the United
States should be ON an equality in
naval strength with Great Britain,
and that it's naval strength should be
in the ratio of to when compared
to the naval strength of Japan. 1t
is inconceiyable that the United
States in Geneva will agree to linn
itation upon it's cruiser strength, for
example, which will be below the
limit fixed for Great Britain.
eolkIlS are IOufsQ OH GkGIg manu-, FlOM-
ever. that the special needs of Great
Britain and Japan will be stressed
when Ii comes to considering the Inn
station TO be placed on their cruisers
and destroyers and submarines. There
is a well defined attempt today to
inculcate the idea in the United States
that the needs of Great Britain for
such craft are greater than those of
th3 United States. The idea is ad-
Vanced also that the interests of
Japan in the Pacific are such as to
warrant at least as great strength
in these auxiliary craft as that of the.
United States.
Familiar Chant Repeated.
The familiar chant of the ''far-
flung British empire" and its posses
sions is heard again in the land. The
necessity of maintaining at all times
a continuous flow OF .foodstuffs and
raw materials TO the United Kingdom
Is urged also as a reason for Brit
aims large feet. Japan, another
island kingdom, il is declared, also
requires great naval strength for ade-
Quate defense and to keep her COM
munications always open.
There is danger that amid all this
argument, the needs of the United
States may be lost sight of. This
country has its possessions in the
Pacific, Hawaii, the Philippines, etc,
and also in the Atlantic, Porto Rico,
the Virgin Islands. 1t is true they
are not as extensive as those Of Great
Britain. But they are important to
the commerce of the United States.
Furthermore, the United States has
the greatest foreign trade in the world
today. It stretches into every coun-
try. America has huge interests
investments and business interests
in foreign countries. They are grow
ing. Upon this foreign trade rests
in large part the margin of pros
perity of the United States. There
is, indeed, something to be said for
the need of adequate naval strength
of the United States.
Britain's Naval Bases.
In one respect, the United States
may be said to have need for more
ships than Great Britain. The latter
possesses naval bases, some of them
OF great strength, around the world.
The United States is practically with
out such bases. Operations, without
adequate naval bases, will depend
more and more upon the size and
strength of the fleets that this or
another country can put in a given
area The very lack of these naval
bases makes all the more important
the proper upkeep Of the battle fleet,
whose strength rests primarily on
the capital ships.
The British and the Japanese are
expected to be willing. at the coming
conference, to fix limitations upon
auxiliary craft, but not to cut their
present strength. Both have clearly
intimated that they cannot do with
less than they now have, particular
ly In view of the fact that France
and Italy remain aloof from the pro-
posed agreement.
A dispatch from London under date
of March 10 announced that the First
Lord of the Admiralty, William Give
Br1dgeman, had said Great Britain
does not intend to lay down any YES
sells Of her 1927 program OF new con.
atruction until late in the year or until
gha outcoE~e Of the disarmament con-
ference as known. He added however
that work on vessels already under
construction will not be stopped.
Not Great Concession.
The suggestion that the British will
not lay down any new vessels until
after the conference in June, however,
fs not regarded here as great con-
cesSton. 1t really amounts to d state
.YnOnt of their usual procedure. They
are going ahead with ships building
and appropriated for. The vessels to
be laid down under the 1927 British
building program in all probability
would not be laid down until Decem-
her. 1927, at the earliest and possibly
mot until 1928. The announcement
2hat work on vessels already under
construction will proceed is important.
There are now eleven 10,000-ton light
cruisers building, which with the three
to be commenced in the immediate
future make a total of IA.
Britain now has built, building and
anpropriated for a total of 50 light