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Show welson's II? M RECEIVES SETBACK House Committee Ends Five-day Deadlock and Completes the Naval Appropriation Bill Without Approving the Administration's Five-year Five-year Building Programme. Pro-gramme. SENATE EXPECTED TO ALTER MEASURE Provision Is Made for Five Battle Cruisers to Be Built in 1917, and Many Smaller War Vessels; Amount Appropriated Ap-propriated by House Is $240,000,000. "tt'ASHIN.GTOX, May 18. Administration Adminis-tration forces in congress lost the first skirmish in the naval preparedness campaign today when the house committee com-mittee broke a five-day deadlock and completed tho naval appropriation bill without approving the five-year building build-ing programme advocated by President Wilson and Secretary Daniels. As finally agreed to, the bill authorizes author-izes the construction in 917 of five battle cruisers, as against two dreadnoughts dread-noughts and two battle cruisers recommended rec-ommended by Secretary Daniels; four scout cruisers, an increase of one scout over the department's programme; ten destroyers, - as against fifteen recommended; recom-mended; twenty submarines, three to be SOO-ton boats, compared with five fleet and twenty-five coast defense submarines subma-rines recommended ; one hospital ship, one oil fuel ship and one ammunition ship. The gunboat recommended was stricken out, and the fuel and ammunition ammuni-tion ships were added from Secretary I Daniels's programme for the second 1 year. Bill Carries $240,000,000. The total amount carried by the bill is $240,000,000, the largest naval appropriation ap-propriation ever presented to congress. While the appropriation proposed is, if anything, an increase over tho department de-partment 'a plans, failure of the five-year five-year programme and the fact that no dreadnoughts were provided for, make the bill unsatisfactory to administration administra-tion officials. Secretary Daniels said tonight he never lost hope of getting what he asked for until congress adjourned. ad-journed. It was clearly indicated that the senate, which has not yet taken up consideration of the naval bill, even in committee, was relied upon to restore the battleships. The senate has never failed to increase the programme for the navy mapped out by the house, and navy officials are confident that tho final bill will provide for at least two battleships and four battle cruisers. - Compromise Effected. The deadlock in the house committee followed a caucus of the eight Republican Repub-lican members of the committee, at which it was decided to oppose tiie five-year programme and to sck to increase the 1317 appropriations over the figure suggested sug-gested by the department. Five of tho thirteen Democrat h not only opposed tiie continuing programme, but ulso wore determined de-termined to cut down the JTilT estimates and jiot to vote for any battleship appropriation. appro-priation. They were willing to support a four-bat tie-cruiser programme, however, and the final coinp: omtse was effected bv Chairman Padgett , with Representative Henslcv of Missouri, a leader of Cie so-called so-called "linle navy" Demoi-ra t s, who induced in-duced the other four to Join him in agreeing agree-ing te. the five-batrle-'Tiiiser plan. Certain to Be Defeated. To meet this concession Chairman Padgett was compelled to abandon tiie five-year-project and it was not brought to a vote in the committee, as it was certain of deVat if the Republicans and "little navy" I ie:r.oci als combined. Ha was also forced to accept a provision proposed by Represeni at ive llensiov, authorizing au-thorizing t'he presidrrft to call a confer- (Continued on Page T KOMPLI RECEIVES SETBACK (Continued from Page One.) enre of world powers at the conclusion of til..- Kuropean war to draw plans for an International peace tribunal. An appropriation appro-priation of SJU'V-'O'J for this purpose Is 'arrted In the section, which was adopted unanimously, and It would authorize the president to appoint nine citizens distln-Kul-;i:ed as lawyers and peace advocates to represent the United States. The compromise building programme was carried by the solid lJemocratic vote of the committee and against the solid Repuhlif-an membership. The liepubli'-an programme, a creed to by the minority whuii the Democratic plan was learned, was two battleships, six battle cruisers, six scout cruisers. fl:'iy submarines, tweruy-eisht destroyers, two jrunboats, one destroyer tender, two fuel oil ships, a supply ship, a naval transport, a hospital ship, an ammunition ship and a repair ship. Committee Tested. Representative Stephens of California, Republican, tested the committee with a series of motions, all of which were defeated de-feated by both Republican and Democratic Demo-cratic votes. They rtinyed from ten battleships bat-tleships to eighty destroyers and represented, repre-sented, roughlv figured, a total cost of $r99. 000, 000. The Pacific coast Interests were taken care of in the compromise bill with a provision that eight of the now submarines and four destroyers shall be built there if the cost of construction construc-tion does not exceed Atlantic coast prices by more than the additional , freight charges on material. Majority deader Kitchin of the house expressed great satisfaction with the hill and said it might be brought up in the house next week, although other Democratic Demo-cratic leaders were not hopeful that It could be voted on before the national conventions. con-ventions. Mr. Kitchin's statement, however, how-ever, is viewed as significant, as he has been opposed to the administration's preparedness pre-paredness measure. May Speak for Bill. "I am so well pleased over the programme pro-gramme as reported I certainlj1 cannpt object to it," said Mr. Kitchin, "and I may see my way clear to make a speech in behalf of It. It is a good thing not to appropriate for dreadnoughts. They are of no use. as the present war is showing. One of the best features of the bill, in mv opinion, is the Hensley resolution reso-lution looking to a permanent peace. The adoption of that will mean more to the world than any other part of the measure." Secretarv Daniels said: "Of course, I 'think it would have been best if the house committee had reported the five-year programme, but I understand under-stand that at no time was it possible to secure the votes of a majority of the committee for this larger proposition. verv considerable number of the naval officers who testified before the committee showed that they fvored building battle cruisers instead of battleships battle-ships for a time owing to the pressing need of this type of ship, which represents repre-sents the highest type of warship design de-sign The opinion of the general board, however, in which I, concur, was that it was probably wiser to divide our new construction of capital ships his year between be-tween dreadnoughts and battle cruisers. Cruisers Needed. "However, the need for these swift hu-e heavily-gunned ships is so piessum when we consider the other great navies of the world that I had far rather see the number I suggested increased than .diminished. As I said at the time the programme I presented to congress represented repre-sented a minimum and not a maximum r"iaamttold that the actual amount of monev appropriated for this year In the bill as reported by the committee is more than the amount recommended in my report re-port The big difference is that the bill covers this year only, instead of committing commit-ting us to a definite Increase for the four veara to follow. So far as the other ships" are concerned outside of the capital capi-tal ships provided, there is no essentia difference between those now in the bill and as recommended in my -report for the (lF"I amFsorrv that the battleships were eliminated and'l would be gratified if ,,. rpitorfd before the bill came to 'the president. One thing about the committee's report is extremely gratifying gratify-ing and that Is that tne members of the committee who voted for only one battleship battle-ship last year voted for five battle cruisers cruis-ers this year." Designs Not Complete. The onlv new ship design already completed com-pleted bv'thVnavy department is for the scout cruisers. They will displace between be-tween 7000 and $000 tons, have a maximum maxi-mum speed of thirty-five knots an hour and mount ten six-inch long-range rifles i Nothing of similar speed or radius of 1 action is now afloat or has been pro-! pro-! posed by any foreign power so far as is known. The battle cruiser designs are not complete com-plete although It has been decided that ; they will be S50 feet in length, have a .speed of thirtv-five knots, a range of action of 10.000 sea miles, a displacement of 32,000 tons, and either eight or ten of the heaviest guns afloat. If ten guns are mounted, they will carry fourteen-inch. fourteen-inch. .50-caliber main batteries, and if eight guns are decided upon, they wilt carry sixteen-inch rifles, the heaviest ever put afloat. Plans for the battleships which Secretary Secre-tary Daniels still is confident- congress will provide call for 36,000-ton ships, mounting ten sixteen-inch rifles each, and with a speed of twenty-one or more knots an hour. Thev will have 4000 tons more displacement than ships to be laid down ths vear and will exceed by nearly 6000 tons anv foreign battleship built or build-ins- o "far as navv designers know. The battle cruisers will cost 520,000,000, as against 118,000,000 estimated for the dreadnoughts. On the basis of the committee's com-mittee's bill, navy experts figure that this congress will provide at least a total of; $94,000,000 for new ships. |
