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Show BILL PROVIDES FOR SEVEN CAPITAL SHSPS Four Battle Cruisers and Three Dreadnoughts Favored Fav-ored by Senators. WASHINGTON", June 22. The senate subcommittee considering the naval bill reached a tentative agreement today to recommend a building programme of four battle cruisers and three dreadnoughts for the coming year as part of a five-year i construction policy, substantially tho same as that drawn up by vnc navy general i board. ' An amendment embodying the plan 1 probably will he reported to the full naval committee within a few. flays. Ah It passed the house the bill pro-vtdps pro-vtdps for only five capital ships, all of them battle cruisers, for next year, and contains no provision for a building policy extending into the future. Increases over the house authorizations have been urged upon senate leaders by President Wilsorl and Secretary Daniels and it is expected that the programme decided on today will have the backine of the administrntion when the bill is brought In. The five-year programme of the subr J committee calls for sixteen capital ships, 1 the last to da laid down in 1920. In virtually all other particulars It follows the general board programme, except for the first year. The general board recommendations recom-mendations of four dreadnoughts ant) three battle cruisers for 3917 Is changed to three dreadnoughts and four battle cruisers, while two fleet sun marines In the board's programme for the year are elimlna ted. Besides the capital ships, the subcom-I subcom-I mittee plan provides authorization tor 1917 of four scout cruisers, ten torpedo-boat torpedo-boat destroyers, thirty coast submarines, one fuel oil ship, 6ne hospital ship, one repair ship, one fleet submarine tender, onp ammunition ship and one gunnoat. The suhcom mittee also has agreed to an appropriation of $3.iAO,000 for aeronautics, aero-nautics, one dirigible balloon to be specified speci-fied for construction, and the balance of the fund to be used at tne. discretion oi the navv department for aeroplanes or dirigibles. Proposals now under consideration consid-eration provide for equipping the navy yards at Norfolk. Va., and Charleston, : S C. for ship construction Norfolk to build ships of all classes and Charleston smaller ships and for erection of a foundry at Charleston to supply material foi navv vards generally. Senator Till man, chairman of the eub-1 committee, said tonight that the bill would be completed and reported to the full committee early next wee. |