THE AMERICAN NAVY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19977, 20 December 1926, Page 11

THE AMERICAN NAVY

MAINTAINING ITS STRENGTH. A CRUISER PROGRAMME. WASHINGTON TREATY INEFFECTIVE. (Frees Association —By Telegraph—Copyright.) NEW YORK, December 18. (Received Dec. 19, at 11.30 p.m.) The Washington correspondent of the Now York Times says that Mr Butler, chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee, as the result of a conference with President Coolidge, introduced with the consent of the President a Bill involving an ultimate expenditure of 140,000,000 dollars for the construction of 10 modern cruisers ’ the 10,000-tou type. The Bill was drawn up when the President was convinced that light cruiser construction had been authorised in Britain and Japan since the Washington Conference, and that the heavy expenditure on battleships by Prance and Italy since 1923 had made necessary the augumentation of America’s cruiser strength, as at present the United States was dropping to third or fourth among naval Powers. It is understood that the President was informed that at least four Powers were violating the spirit of the Washington Treaty. The measure empowers the President to suspend the cruiser programme in whole or in part at any time an arms conference may be called. It is understood that President Coolidge desired this discretionary power in the 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 the 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 be subject to the limitations of the Washington Treaty. The Bill does not specify when the ships will be builf, 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 bo carried out, and that by 1931 the United States would have 25 cruisers o fa tonnage of 225,000 compared with 54 cruisers of a tonnage of 340,000 in England, and 27 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 be 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 are compelled now to undertake a building programme that would have been unnecessary if competition in naval armaments had been ended by the Washington Treaty.”—A. and N.Z. Cable.