Show MORE CRUISERS president coolidge has recommend el ed to congress congress a naval program which will go a long way toward giving givin g uncle sam the kind of navy lie he ought to td have to protect his interests interest for the tha next decade or two the program as outlined by secretary wilbur pro vides for twenty five light cruisers cruiser nine destroyer leaders thirty two submarines and five aircraft canic ca rs the total estimated e expense is although there will be some opposition tion from the little navy men and the internationalist pacifists paci fists in the coun ti kiy v their number is not so impressive as the amount of noise they the make speaker longworth recently informed the president that the house is is in in a rather ambitious mood as regards the navy all of which presages the belief that the official naval Dros ram or something some nearly like it will be put through the present congress and it is well that this is so for while the united states is in a peaceful mood and intends to remain that wy way we cannot have peace unless other nations want us to have leac and one of the best ways to gi give ve the other nations a will to peace so far as we are concerned is to prove to thern them that ve v A e are prepared and that irwill it will not pay to attack us we hae hac now become the richest nation in the world ano and surely purely we can afford some naval insurance for the continuance of our progress and our prosperity there may be some objection on the issue of the cost it is true that sounds like a lot of money but we are told that the t 11 e building program will cover nine years and t the he annual appropriations will therefore amount to a little more that we all know something of the business acumen of president coolidge and his advisers and it can be safely said that the president would not authorize a naval program which would upset the financial balance of the country at any rate the surn sum of was only a pittance comparatively speaking in the world war and if we can avoid another such disaster by building up our na navy vy the new cruisers will be cheap at any price moreover it is true that the money w will ill be spent in the united states and will bring employment to american workers and add to the general plo pios of the country european countries will err if they think our naval program is due entirely to the failure of the geneva conference As the president lias has pointed out we would have had bad to build more cruisers to get up to ratio even if an agreement had been reached at geneva and since no agreement was reached it is up to uncle sam to see that our navy is second to hone undo uncle sam is is going out of the meri chant shipping business too as soon as a plan can be devised to turn the american marine over to american operators the money ne will save by this operation can well be expended in strengthening the navy and even with the present program complete it is ig well to remember that we will still be behind great britain in the number of cruisers cru igers |