Evening star., 1937-10-26
Navy Day.


Tomorrows commemoration of Navy
day-anniversary of the birth of Theo-
dore Roosevelt-is notable in the annals
of that holiday because it witnesses a
renaissance of American sea power. At
Brooklyn Navy Yard the keel will be
laid of the 36,000-ton, 16-inch gunned
battleship North Carolina, first capital
ship built by the United States in four
teen years. Costing $60000,000 and pre-
cursor of sister equally mighty, North
Carolina will be the last word in fighting
efficiency, the most powerful warShip
ever launched. Start of work on her
mighty hull comedies with the letting
of contracts for a $15000,000 passenger
liner which is to be the forerunner of
a fleet of super-modern vessels to re-
place our aging mercantile craft. Nation
wide observances of 1887 Navy day,
sponsored by the Navy League of the
United States, appropriately have as
their central theme The Navy and
Merchant Marine-National Security
and Prosperity
After a decade of studied negligence
in the realm of naval expansion, the
United States is finally embarked upon
building program designed to give it
q treaty f1eet''-that is, the full strength
allocated to us under the Washington
and London limitation pacts, respect
lively, of 1922 and 1930-by 1912. By
congressional authorization there are
now under construction eighty-Seven
ships aggregating tonnage of 1886, 5,565.
North Carolina and her twin will bring
up tonnage on the stocks to something
over 100000. Even that additional con-
struction is behind Great BritainS. Our
cousins have ninety-siX vessels under
way, totaling SAL 900 tons, with others
to follow in early succession.
These figures are pertinent because
the United States policy, just re-
enunciated by Secretary Swanson, calls
for "a Navy second to none" Expressed
In concrete terms, that denotes parity
with Britain AS the British are at the
outset of $1,5OO,OOO 900 general rearm-
ament program, which provides for
steady and substantial additions to their
fleet. the second to none" program will
require Uncle Sam sooner or later, if we
adhere to the parity principle, to spend
considerably beyond treaty-f1eet con-
temptations The two American battle
ships now projected were authorized
because Britain had arranged to lay the
keels of a pair of 36,000-tonners and
has plans for at least thee others.
Thanks to President Roosevelt's con-
sistent devotion to the cause OF ade-
uuate naval defense and the support
which it commands in Congress, the
Nation is able to celebrate Navy day this
year in the comforting conviction that
nothing is to be left undone to equip
the United States with that "sure shield"
at sea demanded alike by the expanse
of our coast line, by the Importance of
our foreign commerce, by our insular
possessions, by the necessity to guard the
Panama Canal, by the obligations in
herent in the Monroe Doctrine, and, last
but by no means least, by the incalcu-
liable perils and possibilities of an in
ternational situation graver than at any
time since the World War.
THE present reign of terror and law
Iessness," said President Roosevelt at
Chicago on October 5, has now reached
a stage where the very foundations of
civilization are seriously threatened.
y Let no one imagine that America
will escape, that it may expect mercy,
that this Western Hemisphere will not
be attacked, and that it will continue
TRANQUILITY and peacefully to carry on the
ethics and arts of civilization There
could be no more stimulating text for
American heart-searching on Navy day.
1t should induce us highly to resolve that
the $750,000,0 900 national life insurance
policy represented by naval expenditure
AS the budget ere long will probably
he-sha1l never lapse. Considering the
magnitude of the risk-which is merely
all we are, all we have and all we hope
to be-the annual premium is absurdly