AMERICA’S NAVY

Evening Star, Issue 19436, 20 December 1926, Page 5

AMERICA’S NAVY

HEW CRUISER PROGRAMME THE REASONS EXPLAINED Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. NEW YORK, December 18. The Washington correspondent of the New York ‘ Times ’ says that Mr Butler (chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee), as the result of a conference with President Coolidgo, introduced, with the consent of tho President, a Bill involving an ultimate expenditure of 140,000,000 dollars for tho construction of ten modern cruisers of the 10,000-ton type. The Bill was drawn up when the President was convinced .that light cruiser construction had been authorised in Britain and Japan since tho Washington Conference, and that the heavy expenditure on battleships by France and Italy since 1923 had made necessary the augmentation of America’s cruiser strength, as at present tho United States was dropping to third or fourth among the naval Powers. It is understood that tho President was informed that at least four Powers were violating the spirit of the Washington Treaty. The message empowers the President to suspend the cruiser programme in whole or in part at any time that an arms conference may be called. It is understood that President Coolidgo desired this discretionary power in tho event of a conference being held under the auspices of the League of Nations or upon the initiative of a Power or Powers irrespective of fhe League The cruisers will have the highest practicable speed and the greatest desirable radius of action. They will cost, exclusive of armament, 105,000,000 dollars each, and 3,500,000 for the armaments. The construction of the vessels will bo subject to tho limitations of the Washington Treaty. The Bill does not specify when the ships will be built, nor make appropriations for the work, and it is considered by some naval officials as little more than a gesture, though Mr Butler intimated that the programme would ho carried out, and that by 1931 tho United States would have twenty-five cruisers of a tonnage of 225,000 compared with fifty-four cruisers of a tonnage of 340,000 in England and twentyseven of a tonnage of 193,000 in Japan. Mr. Butler said that the programme had not been originated to terrorise any nation, neither should it he regarded as a bluff. He added: “It is my opinion personally that some Powers have brazenly violated the spirit of the Washington Treaty. The 5-5-3 ratio was understood by everybody concerned to apply to all classes of warships. It is indeed unfortunate that we arc compelled now to undertake a building programme that would have been unnecessary if competition in naval armaments had been ended by the Washington Treaty.