AMERICAN NAVY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 20 December 1927, Page 5

AMERICAN NAVY.

BIG BUILpING PROGRAMME,

GROWING OPPOSITION,

NEW YORK, Wednesday

The “New York Times” Washington correspondent says that in the opinion of prominent Republican leaders, tiie Administration’s naval programme will not be adopted by the House of Representatives. It is said that there is opposition to the indefiniteness of the loan, and to the suggestion that the President should be empowered to suspend building in the event of a naval limitation conference.

It is affirmed that the -sentiment in the House favours the construction of twenty cruisers, four in each year in a five-year programme, also an airplane carrier. The recommendations of the Navy Department are -agreeable to the prevailing opinion, but opposition has developed to the building -of nine destroyer leaders. Leaders in the House are more interested in rounding out the fleet with auxiliary cruisers, and are not concerned with the naval strength of other countries. They -do not believe that the programme which will finally be -adopted by the House will cause foreign critics to say that the programme was made public with the idea of forcing another naval limitation conference. It is also understood that Butler will move to have the Naval Bill .amended, requiring a number of ships to be authorised and dropping the provision empowering the President to suspend construction in the event of a naval limitation conference. GENEVA FAILURE. NEW YORK, Wednesday.

Viscount Rothermere is visiting here. In a despatch to the “Sunday Pictorial,” London, he characterised the failure at the Geneva Naval Conference as a deplorable British blunder, and blames Sir Austen Chamberlain principally.