The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-09-14
WILL WOOD IS
BORAH BACKER
ON NAVY PLAN
Indiana Representative Is
FIatIy Against Heavy
Sea Expenditure.
URGES CURB ON COSTS
Move for Huge Increase in
Ocean Power Branded
InexcuSabIe.
BY RAY TUCKER
Times STAFF COrrespondent


WASHINGTON, Sept. 14.-While
Senator William E. Borahs demand
for a five-year naval holiday pro-
voked conflicting comment here
today, Representative Will Wood
(Rep., Ind, chairman of the
powerful house appropriations COM
mittee and the Republican national
congressional committee, declared
that congress and the people must
unite Ito stop our army and navy
from running riot with armament
expenditures.
Representative Wood, virtual boss
of tn federal pocketbook on Capitol
Hill, said he had received thousands
of letters indorsing his recent state
ment at the White House that the
economy ak must fall on naval and
military establishments.
Like Borah, he urged that money
be used to furnish employment
through public works and hasten
economic recovery rather than to
build battleships.
The congressman, who represents
steel-building district which
would benefit from a large naval
program, denied he was "pacif1st."
Leans Other Way
He pointed out that his record of
many years in the house would
show, on the contrary, that he had
leaned the other way" But the
present, he insisted, is no time to
embark upon a big army and navy
program.
Our army and navy" he said,
ARE running riot, and for no good
reason. Their combined pre-war ex-
penditureS averaged 1856 900. 900.
they came to $618,00O,000 during the
Coolidge administration, and now
they are about $750,OO0,O00.
cat that rate, there is no limit to
what we may be called upon to
spend for ornaments.
TO build up to the London
treaty standard will cost us $1,000
100000. The navy league, which ex-
presses the sentiment of the ad-
mirals, wants us to build STE, O00, 900
worth of ships in six years. There
is no excuse for such outlay, except
the cry that we must have a navy
second to none.
Nation Not in Peril
Never was there less need for a
great army and navy. NO nation is
preparing to attack us, and the
United States never has been the
aggreSsor in war. Great Britain.
Xix ourselves, is suffering from an
economic crisis, and so is every
other nation, with the possible ex-
ception of France. None of them
can fire a shot without counting the
cost of the cartridge.
eve have the least excuse to
spend tremendous sums on arma-
mentS, in view of our geographical
situation and our professions of a
desire for disarmament. Everybody
is talking disarmament, but nobody
is doing anything.
I'VE should take the lead in a
real movement to promote interna-
tional peace and international re-
covery from the depression"
Wood insisted that, if only from
the standpoint of naval and mill
tary efficiency, there should be de-
lay in construction of the fleet au-
thorized by the London treaty.
Cites Gigantic Waste
After the 1922 conference" he
continued, 1--WE strapped millions of
dollars worth of ships under con-
Struction. We made the greatest
sacrifices then. saw marvellous
ships at Puget sound broken up
under the acetylene torch. Now we
are on the eve of another disarma-
ment conference at Geneva, and no.
body knows what will be the out
come.
I'VE may be asked to scrap more
ships, built and building. So why
go ahead with what may prove to
be useless expenditure-money
sunk in the sea or burnt up by the
acetylene torch!
Besides, wars come in cycles of
twenty-five years or so. The ships
we build now will be obsolete or
by the time we are con-
fronted with another war emer-
gency. Why not wait and see what
the nations will do at Geneva?
If only from the viewpoint of
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