Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-19
Naval Program Hit.
U. 8. Declared Using Voice Of
Jacob. But lIands Of Eau.

To this Editor ~ The star;
r. was with amazement and dismay
that the plain people III the country
read last week the disclosure by the
Secretary OF the Navy ~ The admins =
tration's plan for n naval building pro-
gram covering 20 years 81 cost Of
81, 900 600 600 and The KhGck Df tn"
announcement waE III" greater, coming
rs II did at tho very time that the fec
rotary OF State proclaimed his proposal
for nh all-lnclusiVe treaty With France
Great Britain, Germany, Italy and
Japan. plcdgng mutual agreement nv
these six great powers 10 put AN end
to war as a public policy. By the sub
mission OF every dispute IN arbitration
IF the end OF the war system was de-
creed. Why this startling proposal III
great new armamcnts for this country
and the implication that We. at least
assumed that the war system would
continue for 20 years? II seemed as IT,
while speaking with the voice Of Jacob
We showed the hands of Eaau
For the moment, an appropriation Of
three quarters Of billion was asked
for. cut down from the billion by which
we had at first been Startled The big
Navy group at Washington. which had
bocn rather Subducd since the 1921 dis
armament conference. instantly found
It's voice, and bcsir2ad Congress for pro-
vision at this srSsiOn for - nrV cruisers
9 destroyer leaders. 80 submarines and
5 aircraft carriers. The naval party
In Congress itself is much more urgent
than the Secretary Of the Nav He
asked that the period for the expend-
ture Of the $725 900 should be- left 70
the administration. subject 10 the
course Of international politics. They
demand that the period shall be- imme-
diately fixed and be short. They don't
want a big Navy ION paper" but IN
iron and steel"
II Is In the light Of this pOrtentouo
situation that the two latest letters OF
Frank SimCnds, cabled to American
newspapers from London. whore at the
moment he Is are of such deep sig
nidcaIce. Both letters deal exclusively
with this new naval rivalry betWecn thu
United States and Great Britain. the
two great naval powers. as viewed in
the political. commercial and journal
istc circles in London. Few American
correspondents are better informed on
international affairs than Mr.. Simonds
none knows English sentiment better.
and none has more fully earned the ear
Of the American people Our politicians
and our people need 10 pay serious heed
70 the words Of man like Mr.. Simonds.
soennlv iterated and now reiterated
before committing themselves irretriev-
ably to a costly and dangerous naval
competition with Great Britain. leading
they know not whittier. but certainly
leading to strained relations with our
closest and most powerful International
friend, involving possible consequences
o. the gravest nature. Can We afford 10
gamble on that mighty and sasred
friendship?
Mr. SimOnds recognizes. with every
body else who has followed the matter
the disastrous outcome of the Geneva
naval conference last Summer. Il was
most inadequatcly prepared for. it
quickly fell out OF the hands OF tn
statesmen and became a sparring be-
tween the naval experts. and its ineyi-
table failure was an internatlona.
tragedy. leaving the situation as be-
tween Great Britain and the United
States vastly worse than ii was before
On top of this mournful biunde- comes
the worse blunder of our new big Navy
program, heralded in the worst possible
manner. at the worst possible tine
Concerning this. Mr.. Simords sayS.
There is just one practical consequence
OF our nava! program. With is p3bli-
cation all serious prospect o! limitation
OF ornaments. much more OF diSarma-
ment. In Europe comes 10 an end for an
indefinite period"
The English government and the Eng
lish people recognize that i. We want 10
go into naval competition With them,
regardless OF cost. aiming at what We
call parity, and they regard as Suprem-
acy. We can. OF course distance them In
the race. since their resources are lin
tied and ours are not. On what ground
should We demand or desire naval parity
with Great Byiiainp II we do build. -
says MFR. S!monds. British public opin-
ion vii! harden into bitterness which
/ has never before existed. There is 9
unanimous conviction that the United
States has no physical need OF. and
therefore no moral right 10. Navy
which in the cruiser detail approxlmates
parity with the British" The ordinary
EngliShman is simply puzzled al our
whole course, The question. What on
earth do YOU need the ships for is. IS
says Mr. SlmondS. almost the !nevi-
table question 70 any American In Loa-
dom
What on earth do we need them .or ?
The reasons FOR Britain's need ~ a
strong navy. in the present world con-
d!tsoTs. are obvious. She is dependent
upon open and safe sea routes FOR her
safety and her very TIE. without them
She has no, production and resources IL
The Island sufficient for twu months
and her danl.nions IN Who's protect !on
she IS involved are scattered all oyec
the world We. on the other hand have
lneNaaUSIlble resources, are practically
self-contained. and absolutely safe from
any possible attack. while the preI@nSt
given uttcrance at Washington las
week. that We need big Navy 10 pro-
teet our ocean commerce III case ~ at
tack. Is huncomhe Who could want 20
attack oar commerce. Who is able ~
do K? In the absurd contingency. how
long would It take 20 engineer defense
The whole talk, the three billion dol
lar naval talk and all the rest, Is =
gigantic bluff and /; dlScrc0i,S The
American people that they have been
patient with IL 50 long. Have they -
soon forgotten what naval competition
between Great Britain and Germany
led to- Do they realize that oar pro-
puSalS are tragically impoverlSh.nS al
already Impoverished world 10 they
know or do they seriously ass
themselves. whether We really have amy
consistent or definite foreign policy. oy
whether under an amateur statesman
ship We are simply living by the day,
without a goal and withou; "a compass
Our President reiterateS on recurring
suspicious occasions that Americas pol
icy Is policy " peace. and that our
vocation is 10 lead the world away
from the war system, slthough We re-
fuse 10 cooperate With the organised
family vi nations in It's conference and
court functions Our Secretary OF STATE
Is ~ III" moment trying "a say world
peace with all-meluSNe arbitration
treaties our Secretary NJ the Treasury
lust tells rs that ot every dollar eS~
pended by the Federal Government, 81
cents go tor past and future VARS, and
Il cents for ordinary elNn functions,