THE RACE FOR ARMAMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 94, 17 May 1909, Page 2

THE RACE FOR ARMAMENTS.

WHAT ! (iJiK.\IANV IS JX)IXC. Received 111, 4.30 p.m. London, May IU. The Standard's special representative who was sent to (Jermany reports that Krupps are employing 70,000 workmen, an increase of 22,000 within n year. The tierniania, (icniiany'ii Dread nouglit, lias been Inunclu'd. There are tour others building and live layini? down. There are four cruisers ■building, nine torpedoes, twenty-four submarines and six gui.tbontc. WHERE THE MOXKY UOKS. Received HI, 4.30 1>.»I. London, May HI. Mr. Reginald McKontm. l-'irst Lord of the Admiraltv, replying to a question, said the building of n Dreadnought Rives daily work to 1500 skilled men. Seventy per cent, of the cost goes in wages. DOUBLING OX C.ERMAAXY.

The two keels to one standard w thus acclaimed by Mr. \V. T. -Stead: "The twiHPower standard plus 10 per cent, for contingencies served its turn very well in the past. It is no longer useful. It is only possible with the limitatiop or condition that the. United States is not one of the Powers included in the comparison. Sir Edward lirey pointed this out long ago. hut his prudent tiualihcntion of the formula is habitually ignor-

"There are three reason* why the United States Xavy is excluded. First, hecauiii- the Americans are an integral part of the English-speaking world. Secondly, because the defenceless state of the Canadian frontier shows that an Anglo-American conllict is not regarded as possible; and thirdly, because the Americans, who in a few years' twill number 100.000,001). will in all probability have a larger fleet than any nation which onlv numbern 50,000,000. ■•lf we liiust reject the two-Power plus 'lO pisr cent, formula, we must equally 'hut regretfully' abandon the status quo formula put forward at the Hague Conference. If the Russian standstill proposition had been adopted in 1800 we should!, have obtained an international "iiaraiitec for the assured superiority of the ISritish to the (iermany Navy on a four or live to one basis. Ye,t so unthinking is the general public that 1 was' assailed !>v the .lingoes as a fanali-

eal pacifist when I sought to secure the ■ four to one status quo, imil now J am a*nailed by the pacifists a* a Jingo whe-.i 1 ■ put forward the much mure modest standard of two to one. "The onlv practicable intelligible standard is tliut we must maintain a Navy twice as strong as that of the next strongest European I'owcr. There . w nothing provocative in this'formula. It is an'immense surrender of a position which we have hitherto held without tiny complaint from Germany. Instead of trying (o maintain the sums' quo of j ISOB, with its four or five to one supre-, lnacv, we content ourselves with merely laving down two keels to the German one. There is not a competent German naval authority who does not admit that this is an extremely modest proposal, mid one which errs dangerously on the side of weakness. For tireat Britain, owing to her world-wide Empire, has to maintain eighteen battleships outside her home waters. "If war should come, Germany counts upon finding at least one ally, and the addition of that ally's ships lo her lighting line would probably give her, if not a superiority to the British Fleet in home .waters', at all events a fair lighting chance, which at present the Germane ruefully admit they have not got. This, then, is the irreducible minimum which the nation should demand from the Executive of the day. THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE SHIPS.

It was rumored the other day that Austria-Hungary will have four Dreadnoughts completed within two years. If these statements nre correct, by 1012 Germany's two allies should each have at least four Dreadnoughts completed: that is to say, there would be eight to consider along with Germany's 17 (the Liberal Government'* estimate); or 25 Dreadnoughts in the Triple Alliance bv 1012. If .Mr. Balfour's' estimate of Germany's building operations (21 by 1012) is accepted, the figure will be 20. Italy's 1008-0 naval estimates amounted to '£5.803,881. as against £5,024,020 for 1007-8. The 6 uiii allotted .to new construction was £1,374,105.