AMERICAN POLITICS

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 20 December 1926, Page 4

AMERICAN POLITICS

(Per Press Association —Copyright)

NEW YORK, December’lB. The Washington correspondent ol the “New York Times” says thai

Senator Butler (chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives) as the result of a conference with President Coolidge, introduced, with the consent of the President, a Bill involving the ultimate expenditure of 140,000,000 dollars for the construction of ten 10,000-ton modern cruisers. The Bill was drawn when the President was convinced that the light cruiser construction authorised in Britain and Japan since the Washington Conference, and the heavy expenditures on battleships by Prance and Italy since 1923, made necessary the augmentation of the American cruiser strength, as at present the United States is dropping to third or fourth place among the naval Powers. It is understood the President was informed that at least four Powers were violating the .spirit of Washington Treaty.

The measure empowers the President to suspend the cruiser programme in whole, or in part, at any time the Arms Conference may be callecl. It is understood President Coolidge desired < discretionary power, in the event of a Conference being held under the auspices of the League, or upon the initiative of Power or Powers, irrespective of the League.

The cruisers will have the highest practicable speed, and greatest desirable radius of action. They will cost, exclusive of armament. 10,500,000 dollars each, and 3,500,000 for armament. The construction of the vessels will be subject to the limitations of the Washington Treaty.

lhe Bill does not specify when th< ships will be built, nor make appropriations for the work, and it is considered, by some naval officials, a> little more than a gesture, thourii

Senator Butler intimated that

programme would be carried out, and by 1931, the United States would h 7£>-™o ty ' five cruisere - of a tonnage of 220,000, comparable with 54 of a tonnage of 340,000 for England, and 27 of a tonnage of 193,000 for Japan. hir| enat v Or i.^ nt ' er tlle Programme had not been originated to terrorise any nation, neither should it be regarded as a bluff. “It i 8 my opinion, personally, that some Powers h a „.

-*• iiavc - pointed the spint of th(J Washington Treaty. The 5-5-3 ratio " as understood by everybody concerned to cover all classes of warship! It indeed unfortunate that we ere 1P nr n ° W t 0 kndcrta^ e a build■ng programme that would have been unnecessary if competition in naval urmamenta had been ended bv the Washington Treaty.” George tlle A ' ax - King America ha™nonJ°N ( ™S' '‘i*™* 8 Jt ri^ n Sff" J! | | bt ' until® that firn ™ C, ‘i ' ann °unced in March Powers 6tUe le “ di "3 United States ... .. British Empire . ' 444 France .. S? Russia 219 IS <wtrfsSS..’&!' 47 British™ ^ 8 ’ 120 r™”X r «" 8 E "‘ ,ire ’ u BHtFJh EmpVs:™ 66 ' 36 ’ Japan ’ 24 i Submarines France . T,.„ 26: British Empire Jo’. ’ Japan ’ It was stated that onlv Britain was wo i rt d hv K th b + t n e + 1) ' PS - Tt was notethat Britain was installing sin anti-nircraft guns with a ran-e „f «" x vertical miles whereas the largest a^ S 4 n in Br ' SI R ’’ ns for that scrvir e