Evening star., 1928-11-25
CONTINUED From Third Page.)

light cruisers, destroyers and submarines
because of Englands unwillingness to
yield particle of its advantage ana
superiority; and
5. That the British French agree
ment leaves unlimited very large
class of effective fighting ships, and
this very fact would inevitably lead to a
recrttdescence of naval competition dis
astrous to national economy.
Thus 1t is made clear that all attempts
to bring about reduction or limitation
of all classes of naval armament Will
continue to fail until the United states
demonstrates by actual authorization.
appropriation and construction that its
first line of defense will be made ade-
quate regardless of the action or alli-
ances or understandings or diplomacy
of other nations.
Not Competitive Builder.
The fact is that we have never en-
gagged in competitive naval building. 1t
was not until the necessities of the
World War forced us into battleship
construction program that would have
made our fleet the superior OF any
other that Great Britain agreed to
limitation of such armament. At the
Geneva conference, however, the situ-
alton was reversed, and Great Britain,
with vast superiority of light cruisers,
refused any reasonable limitation.
America proposed between 250,000 and
100000 tons Of cruisers for each nation,
but Englands idea of Limitation" was
100000 tons-far more than we have
or need or desire.
Three times the United States has
been forced into war because of lack of
a Navy so adequate for defense of Amer
lean interests that no nation would
dare to invade our rights. The War of
1912. the Spanish-American War and
the World War $50 far as the United
States was concerned) could have been
avoided II our Navy had been such as
to command the respect Of other nations
without actual demonstration of its
power. Another war today involving Eu-
ropean powers would find our rights
upon the seas again invaded. our COM
merce destroyed and our factories closed
because our Navy is inferior to the re-
sponsibility' Of maintaining American
rights on the high seas.
Navy Held Inadequate.
The general board of the Navy, men
who have engaged in battle at sea, who
know the naval strength of other ma
tions, and who know from actual expert
Tending our coasts. the Panama Canal,
our outlying territory and our COM
nerce, agree that our Navy is made
quate.
Our battleship fleet, numerically and
in tonnage, Is not inferior, yet its effec-
tiveness is endangered by lack of aux
lliary cruisers and submarines such as
possessed by other nations.
Without cruisers such as provided for
in the bill passed by the House and
pending in the Senate our naval defense
is inferior to its responsibilities. Cruisers
of the kind authorized by the bill are a
vital and urgent necessity for two rea-
sons. Their first purpose Is for scouting
and screening duties with the battleShip
feet. Without speedy cruisers 1t is
impossible to obtain information of the
whereabouts and movements of an en-
en1y fleet or to prevent the enemy from
gaining such information concerning our.
own feet. They are, furthermore, an
element of protection to the main feet
against submarine and aircraft attack
The other great need for cruisers in
wolves the protection of our main ports.
as we'll as our vital defensive link-the
Panama Canal--the protection of our
merchant ships from enemy raids and
the protection of the transport of men
and munitions.
, Our naval experts have demonstrated
the need for 43 cruisers We have 1S,
and even the passage of the cruiser bill
will give us but SO. The British Empire
has So such cruisers built, building or
appropriated for. Japan has SO, built,
building or appropriated for. Thus
Americas cruiser fleet is greatly infe-
rior both to England's and Japan's.
Nuh,t rru;sor min p~ortdns
Construction of the Is cruisers au-
thorized by the pending bill would place
us on an equality In numbers with ia
pan but England would still have nearly
double the number of our cruisers. It
Is clear, therefo4e, that the cruiser bill
involves no idea Of American superiority
on the seas, nor OF power for aggression.
1t does involve the very vital principle
of giving the United States the power
to protect itself from foreign aggression
and violation of American rights.
In recent years the United States has
built, is building or has appropriated for
eight cruisers with eight-inch guns The
British Empire during the same period
has provided for Is and Japan IL.
England under the British French
agreement. to which we were asked to
adhere, was willing apparently to limit
construction of cruisers carrying eight
inch guns The reason Is obvious If
England continues her present rate of
such cruiser construction she will have
26 in 1881. while the United States
If the 15-cruiser bill passes-will have
% built, building or appropriated for.
England saw her dominance menaced;
therefore she proposed limitation of
such vessels, which have a fighting
range seven miles greater than ships
with six-inch guns.
Reasons Set Forth.
But England proposes no limitation
of siX-inch gun cruisers. The reason
has been we'll stated by Secretary of
State Kellogg In his reply to the Brit
ish note:
mo one would deny that modern
cruisers armed with siX-inch guns, or
destroyers similarly armed, have a very
high offensive value, especially to any
nation possessing we'll distributed bases
in various parts of the world In fact.
such cruisers constitute the largest
number of fighting ships now existing
in the world
1T is further clearly apparent that
limitation of this type only (eight-inch
gun cruisers) would add enormously to
the comparative offensive power Of
nation possessing large merchant ton
mage on which preparation may be made
in times of peace for mounting six
inch guns"
That the United States has not. and
will not pursue a policy of outbuilding
the world in naval tonnage Is further
proved by the fact that while the Wash
ington treaty permitted us strength of
1875, 1000 tons for aircraft carriers equal
to Great Britain's allotment). we have
but 78,700 tonnage of such craft built.
building or appropriated for, while the
British Empire he's 107,550 tons in this
class.
Where u. s. Is Deficient.
In cruisers, in destroyer leaders and
in submarines of modern design. the