Show 08 am wa tou 0 jim 0 hl S ez 3 S elevation of guns on U S battleships ASHINGTON if W dent harding does docs not ails regard the addict of a t I 1 work of elevating tito guns of tile battle chips will start soon tho the department takes tile around groi d that gothing in tile spirit or letter of the treaty forbids elevating ho file guns and that it Is imperative thai flint tilts tills lo 10 ho done if tile treaty tre aty status of equality IL between tile united stilted and great 1311 tain Is to ho established tile I 1 lineys attitude in III tile matter Is 18 thus by hear admiral W L rod gers ers bead of tile general getiL ral board of the anvy ilav X 4 american naval ofil cors who wro were most closely in touch with tile work of tile tho washington conference conf crenco of tire ono in their belief that nothing in tile naval treaty prevents prove ants increasing tho elevation of tile tho gulls ns as provided by tit alio congressional of last session tile united states navy Is tb b bo be second to nono lione 0 it can call only hold this place by modernizing its ships other nations are doing tile the same thing but not nil all take tho tit same stops stopa to rench reach the ho objective object ivo modernization of ships Is as old as navies tile limitations on modernization pro prescribed by treaty are to arev prevent nt abuse of the treaty by building cally now new ships under cover of alterations ati such sharp practice it was the intention of tho the treaty to forbid but s each nation la Is freo free to modernize its own ships ahapa ns ng it thinks best without disputing the methods by any other navy always keeping inaldo insle the treaty limitations the change in anglo of clev elevation atlon is what tho united states navy needs to keep our ships equal to those of great britain which may inny choose nt fit pleasure plea auro means of modernization more suited to its needs if the country wants no navy or a navy that Is inadequate it may readily have such buell but it should go about it knowing what it Is getting and not thinking it Is getting a navy second second to none putting tho the mutter matter in another form it Is unbelievable that our delegates meant to agree that great britain by treaty was to preserve for some of her ships an ability to alro at ranges which most of our ships cannot attain without alterations of some ext extent eilt |