Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-07
BY FRANK II. SIMONDS
s time passes it becomes clearer

A s time passes 1t becomes clearer
~ and clearer that the proposal
"A to substitute the new yardStick
4 4 Of equivalent naval values" fol
the old standard Of tonnage has
opened new possibilities of chaos and
controversy practically without limit
Nor Is 1t less patent that while Gen
Dawes bowed the expert out, in his
first London speech, the expert remains
the master of the situation.
As long as the British and ourselve:
were satisfied to accept tonnage as the
measuring rod for cruisers, as for bat
tleships, the task of arriving at parity
was relatively simple. True 1t involved
an agreement to build only the same
number of the same sizes OF cruisers
and here was and is the major diff
Guilty, for the British want most OF
their cruisers small and we want al
of ours large. But so far as measuring
the thing was possible.
But now we are plunged into sea
of confusing elements. Inevitably the
British are going to present their own
table of values, and according to that
table all the things they have will be
counted low and all that we have OF
are building will be chalked up to the
skies. Our admirals are going to dc
exactly the same and they are going
to add to the confusion by insisting
that British naval bases and passenger
steamers, available in war, shall be
added to the other elements.
Two Yardsticks?
Obviously no real progress will have
been made when the British and
American experts have produced not
one but two yardsticks. But who is
to bring about a compromise? We
shall not take the British stick, nor
will the British take ours. The mo-
ment both are finished, the press will
be filled with the protests from British
and American experts, reinforced by
the patriotic societies, that application
of the standard of the opposite country
would lead to national defenselessness
The British standard will produce
figures and facts to show that equality
means, in fact, British supremacy, the
American standard will just as GER
tainly amount to a system by which
We shall have superiority. 1t Is now
proposed to let the League Of Nations
make yardstick. But either the Brit
lsh will be able to persuade Geneva
to see things its way or the non-naval
a standard, which will disarm both the
United States and Britain and be
equally unsatisfactory to both.
OF course the truth is that no
equality is possible precisely as long as
the British desire one kind Of boat and
we another Some one must be
superior in some direction. AS we
make our program, we shall have more
large cruisers and thus surpass IN the
battle line. But the British with many
more smaller cruisers and many more
naval bases, will retain a command OF
shipping which is at least as important
MacDonald's Knot.
Now Mr.. Macdonald, without a ma
jority in the House of Commons, with
all the Tories and certain number
of the Liberals determined not to see
British seapower inferior in any direc-
ton, is up against a stih proposition
when he undertakes to advocate any
measuring rod, which could even con-
ceivably satisfy the most moderate OF
American admirals. But Mr.. Hoover
is not in much better position, II ne
undertakes to reconcile Congress to
accept a British system, which all our
naval authorities agree permits Bril-
tannia to continue to rule the waves
Just now in both countries public
sentiment is running high in favor OF
adjustment, but in neither country Is
there any real idea that adjustment
means the practical sacrifice Of the
theses for which the two countries have
commended in the past.
II one is to Judge from what Mac
Donald and Dawes have said recently
the admirals and experts are now to be
ignored and plain statesmen are to
settle the matter once for all. But