AMERICAN NAVY

Otago Witness, Issue 3860, 6 March 1928, Page 29

AMERICAN NAVY

OBJECTIONS TO PROGRAMME. WASHINGTON, February 27. The committee of the Federal Council of Churches has urged President Coolidge to aid in restricting- the naval programmes of the world Powers. Dr M’Farland, the council’s general secretary, said that the council deprecated the American programme since it jeopardised the United States’s proposals far peace, and also cost too much. THE MODIFIED PROGRAMME. WASHINGTON, February 28. President Coolidge feels that there is nothing in the modified naval programme likely to alarm other countries, but rather it will be regarded throughout the world as exceedingly moderate. The President holds that nothing further can be done towards sea disarmament by agreement among the three leading naval Powers until the 1931 Treaty Conference, and that as at pi esent the United States programme is below the 300,000 tons for criers which the American delegation set as a minimum at the Geneva Conference, and which the British and Japanese considered too low, the programme, therefore, will meet with the approval of Britain and Japan. In "’ meantime the House Committee has changed the Bill to read that all 16 vessels planned in the programme must be laid down in three years, but not necessarily completed within «-ix. BRITAIN NOT RESPONSIBLE. LONDON, February 28. -r W. C- Bridgeman (First Lord of the Admiralty) publicly pointed out that the Government bad been charged with the responsibility for America’s big navy programme. It was noticeable that it was greatly decreasing, and had now almost reached what Britain proposed to. thb Coolidge Conference at Geneva. MODERNISING BATTLESHIPS. WASHINGTON, March 1. The House Naval Committee to-day-authorised the appropriation of 14,800,000 dollars for the modernisation of two battleships, instead of the 34,670,000d0l requested bj' the Navy Department for the. renovation of five capital ships. The Bill increases extra pay for submarine officers while on active duty by 25 per cent. Enlisted men get slightly moro than 25 per cent., their increases ranging from sdol to 30dol monthly depending on the length cf service. The committee also approved of a flat rate pay of lOdol per hour for navy divers engaged in salvage operations at •v depth greater than 90ft. The modernisation of the battleships Pennsylvania and Arizona was authorised, including elevation of the 14in and 16in guns.

NEW BUILDING PROGRAMME. WASHINGTON, March 3. The Naval Bill was submitted to the House of Representatives to-day. It was accompanied by a report stating that, with the additional 15 cruisers, the United States would have less than the esential minimum determined by the Navy General Board,"and that, relative to cruisersj the United States will stand in the ratio of 1.4 compared with Britain 5 and Japan 2.6. The report, moreover, stresses that the United States is still left in a secondary position.

” The programme is intended to round out our national forces and make them reasonably competent to support our poli-' cies and safeguard our interests throughout the world,” it continued. “ Its purpose is to ensure that these policies and interests will be respected and peace maintained. It is in no sense a competitive programme, since the essence of competition is an effort to 'excel or out-dis-tance another.”