FOUR NEW CRUISERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 438, 21 August 1928, Page 9

FOUR NEW CRUISERS

GERMAN NAVAL PLANS SOCIALISTS DIFFER (U)iited P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) Times Cable. LONDON, Sunday. The Berlin correspondent of “The Times” says the Deutsche-Werke Company has received an official contract to start work at its Kiel shipyard with an armoured cruiser, the first of four armoured cruisers of 10.000 tons with which it is proposed within the provisions of the Peace Treaty to re-

place four of the six old battleships left to Germany. Simultaneously with this report news comes of the “acquittal” by their party (Socialists), although not without a reprimand, of the Chancellor, Dr. Mueller and the other Socialist Ministers, for concurring in the decision to build the ships. However, the last has not been heard of the question. The Communist members of the Reichstag intend to seek a referendum on the matter. Technical arguments for the armoured cruisers of 10,000 tons are open to doubt. There is more than a suspicion that considerations of prestige played at least as important a part as considerations of national defence in drafting the naval programme. Some experts ask whether it is worth while to build large vessels of doubtful utility at the expense of smaller craft which might be much more valuable to Germany under present-day conditions. The whole controversy is a precious gift to the Communists. Nothing is easier for them than to point out the discrepancy between the Cabinet’s decision and the wild denunciations of cruiser building in which the Socialists indulged in the elec-ion campaign. The referendum scheme cannot fail to embarrass the Government and the Socialists represented in it.