Evening star., 1933-01-15
ROOSEVELT AID
!. FOR DEFENSE SEEN
Weakened U. S. Army and
Navy Expected to Receive
His Strong Support.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


Friends of national defense have
abandoned hope of legislation necessary
to keep the United States Array and
F-ry on an adequate footing until the
Seventy-third Congress and the Roose-
welt administration are in office. It is
recognized that, serious as the needs Of
both services and international condi-
tons are, budget difficulties make 1t i'm
possible TO obtain the requisite apppro-
priations at this moment. The general
staff Of the Army and the general
board of the Navy which are charged,
respectively, with the duty CT maintain
ing the Republics land and sea forces
in state of full preparedness will be
satisfied If they can, for the time being,
ward of congressional attempts to whit
tie down the national defensive estab-
hshment to the danger point. There
will be an earnest effort in both Serv-
ices to prevent drastic reduction Of per-
sonnel.
The threat to cut the Marine Corps
to 1000 or 5000 enlisted men below the
total strength deemed necessary to per-
NIT the Marines to fulfill their ordained
tasks is the sort of thing the Navy would
avert at all costs, letting the matter of
new ship construction 60 over until a
later day. The Army will be content
ii it can again defeat the attack on the
Citizens Military Training Camps. The
budget proposals now before the House
OF Representatives would occasion re-
duction In the number of G. M. 7. G.
trainees from 1880 to $4,000.
Other Nations Far Ahead.
Gen. Douglas Macarthur, chief of
staff, divulged in statement issued at
the end Of last week that successive
slashes in Army personnel during the
last few years have resulted in placing
the United States seventeenth in man
power strength available within short,
or emergency, mobilization period. Gen.
Macarthur estimates our military
strength at mobilizable total of 49,
189, as compared to Japan's 2177,000
the British Empires 1.163,204. Frances
6,eT5, 900, Italy's 6,4e8141 and Poland's
1,977,1o0 The strength of even coun
tries like Yugoslavia, Sweden, Switzer-
land Belgium snT Greece, in each case.
Is far ahead of ours
Authorities conversant with the in
ternational situation, and especially the
immeasurable possibilities conjured up
by the Jap3nsse-C Chinese war, argue
that the hour was never less appro-
pirate than now for the United States
to cheesepere on military and naval
expenditure, especially naval Senator
Samuel M. Shortridge of California,
chairman of the Senate Committee on
Naval Affairs, has just had prepared
for his COMMITTEES an up-to-the-minute
set of comparative statistical data on
the "navies of the world" The tabu-
1ation discloses that while the United
States has grand total tonnage in
warships of all classes of 1,151 .420,
which is larger than that of any of the
other four principal navies, that figure
includes 300,8e0 tons of over-age YES
sells. It leaves efficient, under-age
American ships in commission heavily
below the corresponding gross tonnage
Of the British Empire and Japan.
Draws Startling Picture.
Representative Carl vinson of Georgia,
chairman of the House Naval Affairs
Committee, draws a startling picture
Of the way In which the United States |
has steadily slipped backward at sea !
and behind the British and japanese |
fleets, despite the celebrated 5--5-3 |
ratio He reveals that unless there Is
provision for new construction in the
meantime, the American Navy will oc-
cupy fourth place. ranking behind the
fleets of the British Empire, Japan and
France, in 1886. In that year the
limitation treaty Of London expires.
This Is the situation disclosed by
Chairman Vinson-hgures designed to
surprise most Americans and awaken
them, he thinks. into keen realization
Of the necessity of not economizing
in the wrong direction "Since ratifi-
cation Of the Washington treaty of
1922" says the House naval chairman,
I'VE have provided for 40 ships Of a
total Of 197,640 tons. In the same
period Great Britain has provided for
148 ships of tonnage Of 472,3lo;
Japan for 164 of 5o7,737 tons, and
Italy 144 of 297,072 tons"
Nov, take the picture as it will ap-
pear In December, 1886, when the
tinues. "If the policies of the Hoover
administration are maintained Decem-
ber, 1896, will find a disturbing pic
ture on display. q am excluding
battleships, in which class new con-
struction is not contemplated by any
Of the treaty signatories)
Effect New Policy.
Here is the picture, the tonnage
totals representing under-age aircraft
carriers, cruisers of all types. destroy
ers and submarines: Great Britain, l30 |
ships. ABS. .488 tons: Japan, ISL ships. |
440, 1928 tons; France, 159 ships, $685.
173 tons; United States, so ships, 346.
no tons. and ITALY, 12l ships, 24l ,404
tons These totals include every ship |
under construction or appropriated for |
since the negotiation of the Washing !
ton treaty in 1922"
Men in Congress who are conscious |
OF the progressive shrinkage In Ameri- |
can sea power, due to parsimony on |
Capitol Hill and the incessant paciflSt |
influences to which the House and !
Senate are subjected. are confident
that new deal portends for the
United States Navy when what is
called the Quaker spirit" dominant
during the past four years. is sup
planted after March A. Franklin D. !
Roosevelt's belief In the fleet and
everything connected with it is pro-
verbal 1t dates from a boyhood love
of the sea. which was intensified by
his eight years as Assistant Secretary
of the Navy throughout the Wilson
administration.
Chairman Vinson says he has no au-
thority to speak for the President-elect
but registers strong faith that "F. D.
r." will promptly unfold naval ideas in
striking contrast to those which pre-
vailed during the Hoover administra-
ton. II often wonder how many Amer1-
cans realize" says Chairman Vinson,
that in the Hoover administration
there has not been authorized a single
ship. This means the imposition on the
Roosevelt administration Of bur-
den a great deal hea vter than IL