The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1936-07-30
Speaker at Legion
Convention RecOunts
i. S. Naval Policy
w. III. Pickens From Lincolnton
Elected to Head State
Legionaires

Principal speakers at the closing
session of the three-day convention
of the state American Legion in
Asheville were Admiral William H.
Standley, acting secretary of the
navy and chief of naval operations,
and Frank E. Samuel national legion
adjutant.
Admiral Standley told the legion
naires that to allow the navy's
Astrength to fall below accepted stan
dards is to compromise national Sc
curity.
The speaker, after recounting the
part the navy played in the world
war, described the country's naval
policy as follows:
1T is to maintain navy strong
enough to protect our coast and in
sular possessions, and to safeguard
our seaborne commerce.
''Our naval strength is relative to
other naval strengths. 1t is computed
in terms of the obstacles it must
overcome to carry out naval policy"
Standley said the navy is now
emerging from a period of national
neglect which dangerously lowered
its strength and potential useful
ness"
I'm 1915 Under the leadership of
President Woodrow Wilson and
Secretary of the Navy Josephus
Daniels naval building program
was adopted which would have
given us by 1927 the strongest navy
in the world" he said.
I'm 1922, however, our people,
peace loving and altruistic, entered
into certain naval limitation agree
ments with other powers whereby
/ each power acceded to mutual ra-
ito of naval strength setting upper
limits to several categories of vessels.
ITO comply with this agreement
the United States was forced to
scrap large amount of excess
battleship tonnage. New ships in an
advanced stage of completion were
cut up and sold for scrap or towed to
sea and sunk.
"Other signatory powers were af-
fected in the same manner but not
to the same extent. Furthermore, the
other naval powers proceeded to
build up the limits of those cate
gories in which they were deficient,
while we failed to do so.
$50 in 1888, instead of having a
navy second to none-as our agree
ments provided-we were danger
ously deficient; we lacked cruiser
and aircraf tonnage, and had large
amount of average tonnage in other
types.
Zone of the first acts of the pres
a policy of building the navy to
treaty strength and this policy was
energized when President Roosevelt
allocated $238, 100000 from national
industrial recovery act funds for the
purpose of building treaty ships.
Following this announcement of
policy, Congress passed the Vinson-
Trammel1 bill which set the size of
the navy at treaty strength +. and
directed the secretary of the navy
to seek funds for the replacement of
ships necessary to keep it there.
eff I were asked to give my opin-
ion as to what was of greatest inn
portance to our naval policy today,
would unhesit jngly answer that
it is the continuance of this annual
rebuilding program of requirements.
eff we have, as we should have,
the support of all the patriotic and
sincere citizenship of the United
States in our efforts to carry through
with this program, we will have an
adequate navy and of all the meas
ures that make for national security
there is none more important than
this
The North Carolina department OF
the American legion and its affiliated
organizations ended their 18th an
nual convention in Asheville Tues
day by electing Wiley M. Pickens,
=
Linco1nton, department commander
and selecting Durham as their 1887
convention city.
Mr.. Pickens, the newly elected
commander, is superintendent OF the
Lincolnton city schools. He succeeds
Josephus Daniels, Jr., Raleigh, and
viii take Office October 20.