UNITED STATES NAVY

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 118, 16 February 1928, Page 9

UNITED STATES NAVY

BIG REDUCTION IN PROGRAMME WOULD SATISFY PRESIDENT COOLIDGE 25 LARGE CRUISERS ONLY By Telegbaph.—Pbess association. Copyright. Washington, February 14. : President Coolidge has indirectly advised the House of Representatives’ Naval Committee that he would be satisfied with a considerable reduction in the proposed Naval pro. gramme. The committee was informed that the President would insist only upon the 25 new 10,000-ton cruisers propos. ed, and was willing to drop the rest of the programme as a concession to numerous protests. The 25 cruisers would cost aPproximately 400 million dollars. GREAT INDECISION APPARENT (Rec. February 15, 8.40 p.m.) Washington, February 14. The greatest indecision seems to exist concerning the naval measures which shall ultimately pass Congress.: Representative Britten, after visiting President Coolidge, stressed the President’s desire to • see the entire programme carried out, but, if necessary, he would accept half. Yet some members of the House of Representatives Naval Affairs Committee insist that Congress will not go beyond the twenty-five cruisers, and may even reduce the number to fifteen. Representative Britten, ■who wanted a definite .time limit for the building, now says he agrees with the President that a time limit mght seriously disturb the country’s finances, and that the building should be carried out only as dictated by the condition of the Treasury.

The original proposal was for 72 new ships, including five aircraft carriers, 25 light cruisers, nine destroyer leaders, and 32 submarines, to cost nearly 800 million dollars. BRITISH NAVY AND MARINES RECRUITMENTS LAST YEAR London, February 14. In the House of Commons, the Undersecretary to the Admiralty, Lieut.Colonel Headlam, in answer to a question, gave the following remarkable figures relating to last year’s recruitments for the Navy and Royal Marines. The candidates were 53,915, and the number of the accepted was only 5655, those awaiting decision being 394. The rejections were due to physical, medical, and educational unfitness. Sir Samuel Hoare, Minister for Air, stated that the candidates for the Air Force were 8356, of which number 2453 were accepted. Rejections w’ere due to educational unfitness, deformities of feet, poor physique, and diseases of ears, heart, vision, and lungs.— A.P.A. and “Sun.” GERMAN ARMY BUDGET (Rec. February 15, 7.50 p.m./ Berlin, February 14. Discussing the Army Budget, Hert Groener, Minister of Defence, admitted that the cost was high, but contended that Germany spent £l5 per annum less for each soldier than Britain did. SOVIET OBSERVER FOR GENEVA Geneva, February 14. Though the Soviet is sending an observer to the Preparatory Disarmament Committee, it has informed the Secretariat that it will not participate in the consultation of the Economic Committee, because the Soviet is not interested.—A.P. and “Sun.”