Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-14

on Of c naya hearad s snf Of
For one thing most people were pretty tired
of hearing long-winded arguments over techni-
cal matters they didn't understand particularly
well-and which they rather suspected most of
the honorable Senators didn't understand par
ticularly well eithsr.
But of more definite and practical impor-
lance is the impression that this comprehensive
limitation of tonnage in all classes of sships
viii at least bring relief to the taxpayer, who
has to foot the bills. For after the Navy has
built up to the limits allowed in cruisers and
cut down in battleships and destroyers tax
payers have a right to expect some degree Of
peace to their pocketbooks
There is, of course, the difficult 'escalator'
clause, which permits renewed British building
IN case the Italo-French rivalry produces too
many new warshps the Continent. This
would automatically bring the United States
and Japan into the picture, and tonnage COM
petition would be on again. But everybody is
hoping land the hope is so strong to amount
to an expectation) that II Duce and the French
government will be content to say it with
words. and that the limits agreed upon
represent real maxima in tons to be hoated
and therefore in dollars to be sunk.
But over this fair hope of relief from the
burdens of great naval armament there hangs
a cloud. Nations may stop building Compel
itively so far numbers and tonnage of ships
are concerned, but what will that avail If there
even more intense competition in quality. max
ing each ship in the diminished navieS cost
twice much as before?
THIS is not a mere academic question. 1t
can. be done. In fact, it is being done. And
the significant thing is that it is being done in
the German nayy-the navy in the world
that was subjected to rigorous limitations in
he uyac
in 1922.
Held down to a fixed low maximum size of
ship. and to small number of ships even Of
the limited dispacements allowed, Germany
has apparently gone in for quality building on
a damn the expense" basis. With all the
sources of German inventiveness and technical
skill, the German admiralty is crowding into
every ship it builds all the fighting power
that it will carry, regardless of cost
The result has been that the ships of the
small new German navy all phenomenally
hard hitterS for their size-and about twice as
costly to build as ships of the same tonnage in
the other navies of the world
This enterprise the part of German naval
architects is direct result of limits the VIC
torious Allies imposed upon the fleet building
of the defeated Germans. Having, as they
thought then destroyed their late enemy as
naval power, the allies themselves INDUCED in
such an orgy of competitive construction that
all concerned were only too glad to have some-
body help them let go.
At Washington, and later at London, the most
active naval powers voluntarily put naval
straitjackets They not so tight as the
one they laced on Germany dozen years ago.
but they impose limits just the same.
When Germany was stripped of her navy by
the treaty of Versailles she given set of
rigid limits for a new navy above which she
must not build. OF capital ships she was al
lowed six. These were not to be above 10000
tons in displacement, nor to carry guns larger
than 11-inch in calibsr Capital ships in other
navies were running more than three times
that size, with guns Of IA, Is and 10 inch CAL
iber So that seemed to put Germany where
she would be harmless enough.
The allowance OF light cruisers eight
These were not TO exceed 5000 tons in dis
placement and could not carry guns above six
inches in caliber. The other nations were fol-
lowing England's lead in building ships half
again that big. carrying guns up to 8-inch call
iber. These set the fashion for the so-called
treaty cruisers" which everybody is building
now
THAT. then was the problem the Germans
faced; how to re-sstablish themselves as a
sea power within flame that had been cal
culated to hold only a third-rate navy. Every
ship had to count for two, or as near that as
possible. The Germans started to spend money
to make that dream reality.
Their first essay in the cruiser building was