The Navy And Economy.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 28, 1913:
    The Senate yesterday passed a Public Building bill appropriating more than $40,000,000 for new buildings, an increase of more than $16,000,000 over the House appropriation. The appropriation for pensions this year will probably exceed $200,000,000. Yet the House of Representatives has refused to authorize the construction of more than one new battleship this year, and has also cut out of the Naval bill appropriations for a much-needed new transport and a supply ship. The estimates of the Navy Department have been cut $30,000,000, for "economy's sake" at a time when the need of an efficient modern navy has been practically demonstrated.
    There was a strong and well-supported movement in the House to withhold any appropriation at all on account of battleships this year. Representative Underwood deserves credit for securing a vote for one battleship. In the circumstances, a nation which is strongly impressed by the evidences of its need of defense on land and sea must be grateful to Mr. Underwood, but his argument that "we can maintain an adequate navy on one ship a year to take the place of the vessels which are discarded as fast as they become obsolete" is not founded on a judicial examination of the facts. Mr. Underwood feels quite sure that "no great naval power is going to invade our shores," and he may be justified, so far, but we need ships for the Eastern and Western waters and the Asiatic station, and the navy was not growing too rapidly when an appropriation for two new ships a year was the rule.
    The cutting of the naval appropriations is false economy which no sophistical argument can excuse, and we are likely to suffer for it in the future. But nobody will be fooled by the plea of economy. The idea of saving the public money is not permitted to interfere with the erection of expensive public buildings in the Districts of some of the money-saving Congressmen, or with the expenditure in the form of pensions of vast sums to secure political support.