Show STE WART WASHINGTON L LETT ETTER su sn u. u S. S L. GS BEhIND SN IX luG BIG Charles P. P lut 11 NFL sert kc Sept Big 4 navy men arc getting ready to put up a stiff stitt fight not only against I the cut President Coolidge La understood to want In the next appropriation for tor warship build build- building ing but Lut In favor or ot of a much more liberal allowance than the present on one The argument arg is that the I armament limitation agreement which resulted l from the tho conference called lIy by President I dent Harding to put a stop to the therace therace race for or naval supremacy didn't In rea reality lit stop It but simply changed Its form torm The United States tate its it's contended has as- as assumed assumed that the race was stopped completely complete I but England and Ja- Ja JaI Japan pan haven't and consequently this will be completely out out- outclassed I classed as a 0 sea power soon at atthe atthe the present rate I i What the I Harding conference did was to set a limit on capital ships but no limit whatever was as placed upon cruisers up to I I I tons A ton cruiser Iii is II a small affair compared with a ton battleship but leavIng battleships out ot of the former Is a decidedly formidable ble craft And this Is the type trpe of oC vessel which the English sh and Japanese are now concentrating upon build build- trig ing The upshot presently wIll wl wIllbe be tile the big navy folk predict that while the tho United States may remain at least theol up- up upon upon on a 0 battleship equalIty t with Eng Eng- England England I land and somewhat Japans Japan's su- su superior superior she will wl be relatively so 60 weak e in cruisers as to be net at I Ie To bo be sure President Coolidge plans to call caU another conference to limit cruIser but the bl navy group clo doesn't believe there Is the remotest possibility Eng and Jaran will agree to thIs By just one method the big think does docs America stand some chance ot of bringing tile the English and Japanese to terms terms- by setting the English and Jap- Jap Japanese Japanese anese so hot n a cruiser building pace that the they cant can't keep up with it Rather than bo be or 01 strained beyond their po powers ers ot of financial endurance by 13 Americas America's greater resources Its It's foreseen that the two other peoples 8 would be willing to call a halt alt all round at some reasonable figure The aviation question will fig fig- figure figure ure in the controversy but it doesn't seem scent likely that those who declare the plane has made surface fleets obsolete can muster strength enough at pr present sent to pro pro- produce duce a 0 serious Impression Ther may make I a pretty ener- ener energetic energetic getic bid for moro more and Improved planes as naval auxiliaries put ut not as substitutes for surface Its It's to bo be considered that thIs latter proposition never has had any proponents among naval na officers even In the all air service those who have havo advanced ad it hay hay- havIng Ins Ing been exclusively army avi- avi The planes plane's potentialities how how- however ever may count con on tile the side ot of President Coolidge's es e's pOlicy ot of naval nl retrenchment rather than expansion Without going so far tal as to say ho he believes aviation has supplanted surface fighting the th president does take the position that It at least prom prom- lace bee to do so lie He opposes an ambitious surface program at a time when a few tew years years' developments may mar prove every cent so 80 spent to have been I wasted The Tho economy element In congress certainly will wili make the most ot of this contention The truth is b avIation's value as asan asan an Independent fighting force torce Is I hard to determine Its advocates are open to the suspicion of over over- The group of experts are equally open to 10 the tho of Jt It because it Il would rob them theirs ot of their pro pro- Cession It may take a war to settle the argument |