Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-01-28
SEEN
HEARD
around the
NATIONAL
CAPITAL
By Carter Field y
By Carter Field .

WaShlngton.-PreSl Roosevelt
does not intend that the construc-
ton of the two new battleships-
to cost $50, 1000 each-shall be
started until he has exhausted every
possibility for obtaining an interna-
tional agreement to cease such con-
struction.
That is the real reason that there
appears to be so much ground work
to be gotten out of the way before
construction can actually start. The
truth is that the Navy department
would be able to call for bids within
twenty-four hours after the Presi-
dent gave it's officials the green
light.
The Navy department always has
plans for new battleships. It keeps
changing them as this or that fac
tor develops-as each new diScov-
cry is made. It has been a long
time, so far as can be discovered
since any really important change
in the general lines of construc-
ton was made. The last two big
ones were the changes designed to
make the big ships less vulnerable
to submarine and airplane attack.
Strangely enough, the defense
from airplane attack was not as
important as might be thought. The
chief idea is very heavily armored
deck, at some little distance below
the ''false" deck that the visitor on
a battleship sees.
But this armored deck was forced
not so much by airplane bombs as
by 'plunging" fire. The real target
of fourteen or sixteen-inch shell
is not the side of the ship but its
deck. This is because, when the
shell strikes, it will be falling in a
slow arc very close to the perpen-
dicular. In fact, it hits almost
precisely as would an airplane
bomb.
This gradually developed with the
increasing range of big guns. No
matter what the velocity of a shell
is, it falls-as soon as it stops
rising-with the same speed as
though it were released from a
bombing plane. Hence to OBJ
tain great range it is necessary to
elevate" the guns to an extraor-
binary angle. Thus when the shell
strikes target say at 10000 to 3d.
900 yards that shell must have been
a terrific distance up in the air at
the top of the trajectory.
Change in Fighting
1t is this change from the old
days of sea fighting which results
in a battle line of ships now at
tempting to maintain a broadside
position to the enemy instead of be-
ing headed directly toward the hos
tile ships. It is much easier for long
range gunners to hit ship facing
them or steaming directly away
from them than it is a ship which
seems to present a much bigger tar
get by being broadside on.
In short, as the she'll is falling
when it hits, it is much easier to hit
the length of a ship-which runs
up to 1000 feet-than her width,
which is around 100 feet at the
widest part.
But the whole point now is that
for several years there have been
very few important changes in fun
damental construction of battle
ships. AS a matter of fact, few
have been built anywhere since the
Washington arms conference which
concluded in the winter of 1922.
Aviation enthusiasts thought there
would never be any more. The adj
mirals still want a lot of the big
fellows. President Roosevelt in
clines to the side of the admirals
in this controversy, but is still hope
full that some common sense agree
ment can be reached which would
save the American taxpayers $780,
100000 in this particular instance,
and the taxpayers of Britain, Japan
and Germany, not to mention some
other countries which really cannot
afford new battleships, equal sums.
Moreover, the President is definite
ly of the opinion that an armament
race does not make for peace.
War Boycott
Proposal to boycott any country
at war-that is to refuse to buy its
exports-is the latest development
among what might be called the
"Peace Is Worth Any Price"-to
avoid the less fattering "Peace At
Any Price'-element in congress.
Trade experts are inclined to re-
gard this addition to the plan of re-
fusing to sell war supplies as rather
academic, especially as there is by
no means any certainty that a ma
jority of congress would vote to
ban all war supplies.
The present language reads
farms, ammunition and imple-
ments of war;" This does not in
clude steel, copper and manganese,
though every one admits these are
essential war supplies. It does not
include cotton, which should prob
ably come in the next category, and
does not include foodstuffs.
Nor is there any certainty that
they will be included. For example,
Senator Bennett c. Clark of Mis-
souri,, one of the leading advocates
of drastic neutrality law, would
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