Evening star., 1934-06-03

BY the Associated Press.
THE belated honors which Con-
greSs heaped yesterday upon
Capt Richmond Pearson Hob
l. son, 63-year-old hero of the
Span S h-American War,
pleased him no more than the big
Navy talk he heard in congressional
halls.
Congress voted to make him a rear
admiral and retire him at $4,000 a
year for sinking the Merrimac in the
path of the Spanish feet at Santi-
ago Bay 36 years ago
He stood in the galleries yesterday
slim, straight and smiling, as the
House rose to cheer him.
ANY other American would have
done the same thing" he said. Nearly
every man in the feet volunteered to
go with me"
His hair is gray but he said he was
happy Congress had placed him where
he again might be useful in case Of
war.
Resigned Because of Health.
His resignation from the Navy in
1903 because of broken health closed
with a request that he be called back
to duty in event of war and his in
terest in naval affairs is still strong.
The road to peace with Japan"
he told reporters after his visit to
the House, lis for America to control
the sea and the air in the Pacific
Ocean. I am not criticizing or quar-
reling with Japan. That simply is
the formula that fits the realities OF
the situation
The present fleet and naval air
force appear to him very, very far
from being adequate"
'As a minimum for national de-
| fense," he explained, America should
have sea power equal to that of any
and should have air power equal to
! the combined air power of the strong
est country in Europe and the strong
est in Asia"
He favors American control of the
air by means of adequately protected
aircraft carriers, out as far as mid
| ocean.
Unfortunately" he said, nations
are not loving us as I feel they should
AS a creditor they will continue to
| love us less"
Ranks U. S. Navy Third.
Big ships gave the United States
naval supremacy at the end Of the
| World War, Capt. Hobson asserted
but since then 'it has been permitted
to slip away until now he believes
the American fleet ranks no better
than third, considering the age OF
many of its ships.
If We had to fight in the Pacific
the Japanese fleet would be superior
in power" he declared.
The outlook for a naval construc-
ton program to give the United States
a fleet second to none now is most
promising" he believes. in view OF
enactment at this session of the Vim
son bill
One impression he thinks might
we'll be corrected after all these years
is that his feat at Santiago was not
entirely successful. The ship didn't
! 81 OOWA "Iiclc pldIlIltu, Tic dSIteu
but it blocked the harbor so that the
Spanish ships had to go out slowly
one at time and were destroyed
/ easily.
Providence" he smiled, always
played big part in my equation"
Home in Alabama.
Hobsons home is in Greensboro
Ala. but he spends most of his time
in New York, where he directs a
world association against the narcotic
| traffic.
The bill to make him rear ad-
miral was pushed through the House
by Chairman Vinson, Democrat, OF
| Georgia, of the Naval Committee
Among the Congressman who paid
tribute to the captain on the floor
was Representative Bankhead, Demo
crat, of Alabama, who once defeated
him for Congress from Alabama.
The measure now goes to the White
House for President Roosevelt's sigma
tUre. 1t was opposed in committee
hearings by Secretary Swanson of the