The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-26
One Billion
for Cruisers
Is Request
of Roosevelt
Speeds Huge War Plans,
Violating All
Peace Talk
BY SEYMOUR WALDMAN

BY SEYMOUR WALDMAN
WASHINGTON, April %.
The sky overhanging vast
China, the hunting grounds of
competing French, Japanese,
English and American i'm
perialists, grows darker daily.
But a few days after the
Japanese Foreign Office an
nouncement of Tokio's intention
to apply a sort of Monroe Doctrine
in the Far East and less than
month after President Roosevelt
signed the Big Navy-VinSon Bill
under thin pacifist cloak the
President announced today in his
press conference that he intends to
request authority in a forthcoming
supplemental appropriation bill to
begin construction of the 102 war
ships and 1884 war planes author
lied in the bill.
The appropriation referred to,
which amounts to about S1,500,000,-
900 will most likely be taken up as
soon as Congress completes the
framing of the revenue bill. This
billion and a half dollars is the
recovery" appropriation outlined
by Roosevelt in his budget message.
1t is understood that $4,000 900
of ii will be allocated to public
works.
Silent on Far East
The President refused to COM
ment on the Far East situation.
However, he did characterize the
impending imperialist conflict as
an awful lot of cross currents and
cross wires. One of the cross cur
rents, it may be remembered, il. the
administrations order to Secretary
of Commerce last week to stop the
sale of old ships to hinder japanese
accumulation of scrap iron for mu-
nitions.
The five-year naval construction
Vinson BILL signed by Roosevelt on
March 27, gives him blanket au-
thority to build up the navy to the
limits of the 1880 London Treaty.
Conservative estimates of the cost
and this tremendous Roosevelt war
program will entail range from
$750,000,00O to $1,000,0o0,000 while
the annual upkeep of such an ar
made was estimated, on the House
floor, around $500,000,000.
RooSeYelt's announcemnt is also
concrete notice to Japan that his
administration, jointly with Great
Britain, will face Japan at the 1885
Naval Conference with as much of
built and building treaty navy as
possible. The purpose of the Eng
lish-A American United Naval front
Is to meet the expected Japanese
demand for naval equality with
something more tangible than blue
prints.
Limit Armaments"-with Big
Navy
1t is significant that when Roose-
velt signed the Vinson Bill he took
great pains in attempting to allay
the rising anti-war sentiment of the
workers by pointing out that this
is not a law for the construction of
a single additional United States
warship' in view of the public mis-
apprehension of fact in relation to
the Vinson Bill" He also declared
that the policy of his administra-
ton was "to favor continued linz
itation of naval ornaments"
1t was his personal hope that the
Naval conference to be held in 1884,
will extend all existing limitations
and agree to further reductions"
''All existing limitations" how
ever, allow the construction of the
warship tonnage and war planes
mentioned in the bill.
Avoids Personal Strikebreaking
Roosevelt, when asked about the
prospects of the Wagner Labor
Disputes Bill, now being revamped
by Senator Wagner and some Cab
met members to make it more spe-
officially compulsory arbitration
and company union measure than
the original language made clear
declared bndb JnOugu Inc wagner
Bill may not be permanent solu-
tion to prevent strikes it will help
substantially. This President is
trying to avoid having to face the
mounting wave of strikes personally.
especially the loss of prestige among
workers which results from each
strikebreaking act
1t is clear that he does not wish
10 take personal responsibility for
another sell-out settlement such as
was forced down the Threats of the
automobile workers
In talking about the Wagner
Lewis Unemployment Insurance"
Bill, a measure which ignores the
present fifteen million unemployed
Ind doesn't take effect until two
Fears hence, Roosevelt informed the
correspondents that he is tremen-
lousy in favor of unemployment
Insurance.
The White House said that the
Cleveland and st. Louis auto strikes
had not reached the President.