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163

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MAY 11, 1924

PRICE,





MS'

CONFERENCE

AND

THE

NAV




imitations stressid
As Logical Solution'

EDWIN L. DENBY

That the late arms conference was
not a success in every sense of the
word, was the opinion of Ensign Rus-
sell Dodd, '22, head of the naval unit
here. H1e considers that one of the
direct results of the conference was
the swelling of the sea power of Japan
in the Pacific region and the conse-
quent comparative diminishment of
tthe power of the United States in her
island possessions of that region. The
increase of the influence of Japanese
he says to be particularly visible in
the great number of naval bases that
the eastern empire has scattered
throughout the Pacific.
"The conference gives to Japan ex-
actly what she always wanted and has
always been trying to get," he said and
continued. "It gives her the naval
supremacy that she has been trying to
attain for years. It of course can easi-
ly be seen that Japan needs territorial
extension, much more in the future
than Just now, and in my opinion and
in Japan's proximity to the Philip-
pines, her next perils of growth will
undoubtedly turn to those islands."
Mr.-Dodd thinks that the conference
and the restrictiois it placed on the
armament of the United States, but
particularly on the restriction it
placed on the establishment of na-
tional naval bases, was one of the
main causes for the present state of
affairs. He substantiated his opinion
with the reference to a paper that he
had heard read before the Naval War
college atNewport, Rhode Island, and
which, he asserted if the planoutlined'
had 'been accepted by the United
States before the Arms conference
took place', the present'situation would
not find the United States in such an
unprepared condition forsthe defense
of her Pacific island possessions.
The paper in brief amounted to an
outlining of a method for the defense
of "our possessions in the Pacific in-
eluding the Philippinesand the is
lands between them and th'e Pacific
coast, and it also pointed out the dan-
cer that our islands would be placed
i if such a defense was neglected. It
is the opinion of the head of the naval
unit head that if such an outline had
been followed and the value of its
commendations sufficiently recognized,
the supremacy of the United States
in he Pacific would not now be forfeit
even under the existing provisions of
the Arms conference.
The plan provided first of all for the
establishment of naval bases on many
of the United States owned islands
that surround the Philippines and also
for many of the Philippine islands
themselves. The aval bases would
contain supplies such as coal, food and
repair facilities with at least one dry'
dock that would be sufficiently large;
to accomnodate)a first line battleship..
It is especiallA important th'at a dry
dock large enough to hold a capital
battleship be established in these is-
lands for a cruiser out in mid ocean
if it was one of the first line would
not beable to dock any place for re-
pairsbecause of its size and it would
be necessary for it to return to San
Francisco in case of accident.
So, according to Mr. Dodd, when the
treaty was agreed uponwhich forbad
the erecf on Of any more naval ta-
tions in the Pacific, our power among
those islands and indeed the influence
among all our possessions in the east
was diminished a great deal. Besides
tbva great harm done to our naval
power, our defence of the islands
themselves was dangerously restrict-
ed. One of our best equipped islands
rests its defense mainly on guns and
other equipment that were captured
In the Spanish-American war and ac-
cording to the terms of the treaty at
the Arms conference we are bound not
to increase the defense.
Mr. Dodd briehy outlined the dan-
gers that were incurred in our lack of
adequate naval bases giving state-
ments which he had remembered from
the paper. The ships without tile nee-
essary bases were either required to
retu'rn to San Francisco for compl-
cated repairs and complete supplies
or were obliged to be accompanied
with a "train" of ships that would act
as supply bases although of course
the ships could not take the place of
the dry docks It has been estimated

also that these trains are much more
expensive to keep up than the naval
basees, so added to the fact that the
speed of a line of ships is controlled
by its slowest vessel and that the sup-
ply boats are of course the slowest,
the navy suffers not only with useless
expenst because of the restrictive
clause of the treaty, but also in effi-
,ianvi.n The sneed would be cut down

be only the work of several days thatV
that country could obtain entire con-
trot not only of the Philippines but
in all probability Alaska. This would
be done before United States vessels{
could he in a position to defend its"
island possessions.
Still quoting from the paper Mr.
Dodd advocated the plan set forth in
it, which sponsored the establishment
of naval bases on islands that are for-
tunately arranged like stepping stones
from San Francisco to the Philippines.
This would be undoubtedly less ex-
pensive to carry through than the
haphazard stationing of bases and
would not only provide a swift and
easy means for communication be-3
tween the United States and the !
Philippines but would also place our
country in control of all the sea sur-t
rounding.:

Age-Old Problems
Always Presented'
To New Executive
With the resignation of former Sec-
retary of the Navy Edwin L. Denby
under the pressure of the investigat-
ing committee of the United States
senate, a new order of things is
brought into being. This new order of!
things, like all new orders from the
beginning of time, was automatically!
presented with problems which have
grown old under the ever present at.
tempts of humanity to solve them.t
Whether or not this new administra-
tion will meet with the approval of
the people of this country is a mat-
ter which will not be settled until the
issues concerning the limitations of{
armaments are definitely and advan-
tageously settled for all time.
Mr. Wilbur is a man of ability, al-
though in the matter of diplomacy a
knowledge and satisfaction of his mer-
it will come only with the passage of
great lengths of time. It is up to the
people of this country, therefore, to

CURTIS D. WILBUR

General Survey Giv
OfArm amen tQuiesti,


By Nurchison Mabie_
Curtis D. Wilbur, the new secretary
of the navy, appointed to succeed Ed--
win Denby, takes charge of his de-
partment at a time when the Amer-
ican navy and those of other world
powers are carrying out the agree-
ments of the Washington conference
for the reduction of naval armament,
and when the American navy is being
strongly criticized for the way it is
doing it. Under the conference agree-
ment the ratio of naval strength was
to be United States 5, Great Britain 5,
and Japan 3. Such eminent naval ex-
perts as Admiral Coontz and William
B. Shearer, inventor of numerous
naval appliances, charge that in actu-
ality the strength is Great Britain 5,
Japan 3, United States 1. They say,
in other words, that instead of having
one of the two greatest navies In the

wait and to watch with ever present
interest the actions of this new au-
thority in the ranks of the navy.


Party Q rganization and Activities
IBy Thomas H. Reed

(In this article, Professor Reed discusses the way
in political parties work to secure their one aim-that

of getting the vote.

He points out the difficulties

under which the parties work, and some of the prob-
lems which lie before the coming generation of voters.)
We have already seen in the first article of this
series that political parties in America are not based
upon a definite dues-paying membership. In this re-
spect they differ very much from the political parties
of Continental Europe. A man who desires to join the
Action Liberal Populaire in France begins by applying
for membership in the local organization of that party
and by paying the small fee required. In this country
millions of persons consider themselves Republicans
or Democrats who have never contributed a penny to
the support of either party and who have rarely if
ever attended any of its meetings. The first thing then
which marks American political parties as peculiar is
the vague and intangible character of their membership.
There has been one exception to this rule-the So-
cialist party. And at least one very distinguished So-
cialist writer ascribes the lack of success of the Social-
ist party in America to this rigidity i'n its Constitution.
The ordinary party organization in America is a
matter of an hierarchy of committees. These commit-
tees are voluntary, in many instances to the point of
being practically self-constituted. They hibernate like
hears in the period between elections and only crawl
out of their obscurity when the warmth of an ap-
proaching political contest seduces them from slumber.
There are, of course, exceptional committees which
never cease their activities. In those sections of the
country where political organization is carried to the
highest degree, cities like New York, Cleveland, Cin-
cinnati and a very few rural communities, there is
alongside of the committee organization another hier-
archy of precinct, ward and district leaders culminat-
ing in the big boss. These persons nominally,, as a
rule, derive their authority either from the correspond-
ing committee or from the same source as that from
which the committee springs, the caucus or convention.
In reality they derive their position from the boss and
hold it by reason of their political success. You will
often find used in contrasting senses the words organ-
ization and machine. I think the term organization
fitly expresses those party agencies which really derive
their authority from and are effectively responsible to
the party itself. The term machine is the fitting label
of an organization of party workers which is created
by and responsible to a political boss. You will find the
two shading into one another. Some of the most diffi-
cult ethical questions of your life, if you are to be inter-
ested in politics, will arise from this confusion of legiti-
mate organization and machine control.
At the very top of our system of party organiza-
tion stands the National Committee. The Republican
National Committee is made up of one person from
each state selected by the delegation from that state to
the National Convention. The Democratic National
Committee which consists of one man and one woman
from each state is chosen by the party primaries in the
respective states. In both parties the term of office
of the Committee is four years. The Chairman of the
National Committee is nominally elected by the Com-
mittee but in fact is selected by the candidate for the
presidency. He is the person responsible for the con-
duct of the presidential campaign. The National Com-
mittee is divided into a number of sub-committees. It
issues the call for the National Convention of the party
and its principal activities are concentrated into the
period from the issuance of the call in early spring
until the presidential election in November. For the
S- . '- - I - __1

ing his term of office. His powerful influence, his veto,
his unrivaled opportunities for publicity and his enorm-
ous patronage give him command of his party if he so
desires to take it. Even the broken and bed-ridden
Wilson remained the undisputed leader of his party.
At the head of the party organization in the states
is the State Central committee. It is variously consti-
tuted in these days, sometimes by direct election in the
party primary and sometimes by the choice of county
or state conventions. It is always in nominal charge
of the campaign for state offices and is charged with
the care of the general interests of the party within the
state. The direct primary, however, has done a great
deal to weaken its influence. In addition there are
usually Congressional districts, county, city and ward
or town sub-committees. These may be named at a
primary or be appointed by a committee higher in the
list.
It is safe to say that as politics are carried on in
our country today the vast majority of this whole
series of committees is something other than represen-
tative of the party membership, unless mere acquies-
cence may be taken as a proper basis of representation.
It is doubtful if you can find one voter in ten who
can truthfully say to you that he has regularly taken
part in the choice of this series of committees. Except
when there is a desire to placate some interest, like the
Women's Clubs, by giving them nominal represesnta-
tion on party committees, these committees are almost
wholly drawn from one class in the community--the
class of party workers. In every community there are
a considerable number of this sort of people; some of
them work for the party merely from interest in party
work for its own sake. These are the kind of people
who are crazy about politics as others are crazy
about the radio or any other hobby. Their number is
comparatively small and their influence is very slight.
The bulk of the party workers are persons who hope
for some material reward as a result of their party
activity. They want jobs for themselves or their fam-
ilies, favors of one kind or another from the state,
county and municipal authorities; honors of the kind
that make valuable publicity for struggling and ambi-
tious lawyers. It is these party workers who always
attend caucuses and primaries, who are always ready
to accept the discipline of the party boss passed down
to them through the ward and precinct leaders. Their
one great virtue is regularity and in their code of morals
the one great sin is independent voting. The most am-
bitious and successful of them become precinct and
ward leaders, or even in time mount to the lofty po-
sitions in the city or state machine. The rest of them
work loyally for the party and make what hay they can
while the sun shines for them.
To break the control of politics by this class we
must have the active participation in politics of the well
trained patriotic and disinterested citizens who, in the-
ory at least, are turned out by our great institutions of
learning. This rabble controls politics because it is
always present when political questiof .zare to be set-
tled. It never neglects the primaries and it under-
stands the art of participating in them. They are a
stupid and shallow lot of people dexterous only in the
performance of the low tricks of their trade. They
can be routed any time by a vigorous and well directed
attack. College men and women should wage a never
ending war on them. Such a war, however, cannot
be waged by keeping a comfortable distance from them
and holding one's nose.
The activities of party organization aside from its
effort to control the caucuses and the primary are
chiefly concerned with the winning of elections. This
is indeed their only legitimate field of activity. There
is enough to be done here to justify the existence of a
very thorough organization. In the first place voters
h- ryzt.ir-+ Tnle theva re held un to it by

ture must be prepared and distributed. In national
elections a great deal of circularizing can be done at
the expense of the government by sending portions of
the Congressional Record under the ,frank of some
Representative or Senator. Some states provide a pub-
licity pamphlet which is sent to every voter and in
which space is set apart for the statement of each can-
didate who is willing to pay a small fee for the privi-
lege. Bill-board advertising may be made use of, be-
side a wide variety of window cards and smaller post-
ers. On election day the vote must be "got out". That
is a careful check must be kept of those who vote. The
persons who are known to be ill or in feeble health
or decrepit must be taken to the polls in carriages, and
when the closing of the polls approaches the party
voters who have not yet cast their ballots must be
sought and carried to the polls. An essential prelim-
inary to "getting out" the vote effectively is a check list
of party voters. The ward or precinct leaders obtain
from the election authorities copies cf the poll list,
that is, the list of persons qualified to vote. Upon
these they mark the politics of each individual. It is
easy to know the politics of some prominent and ag-
gressive person but in order to make the list complete,
the house to house canvass must be resorted to. That
is, someone must call on each voter and tactfully dis-
cover his preference in the election. For reasosns
which will be very obvious this house to house canvass
work, is of overwhelmingly vital importance in any in-
dependent attempt to defeat the machine.
Now all ;these activities on the part of a political
party cost money.: Speakers must be paid, their ex-
penses must be provided for, meetings must be adver-
tised, bill board space must be hired, expert newspaper
publicity men must b employed, space must sometimes
be bought'in the papers themselves, pamphlets must be
printed and distributed, automobiles must be hired for
election day, persons must be employed in clerical ca-
pacities aboutthe;, headquarters. All these are legiti-
mate sources of expgnse. It is unfortunately true that
money is used for other purposes, sometimes for the
direct purchase of votes. When money is to be used
in this way it is ordinarily handed down from city
boss to ward leader, to precinct leader. It is only
through the latter that it reaches the persons who are
ultimately to enjoy it. A good deal of its sticks to
every pair of hands which is supposed to pass it along.
Our attempts to prevent the undue influence of
elections by money have largely taken the direction of
a limitation of the total amount which a candidate may
-spend. Candidates for the national House of Repre-
sentatives may spend not more than $5,ooo in securing
their nomination and election. A United States Sen-
ator may spend $io,ooo. The states have adopted sim-
ilar restrictions for state offices. A sworn statement of
his expenditures and their purpose must be filed by al-
most every candidate for public office. It is notorious,
however, that by one means or another, these limitations
are evaded. In some campaigns vast amounts of money
are spent. It is probable that almost all of the money
is spent for legitimate purposes. The real protection
against extensive bribery lies in the fact that with the
secrecy of the ballot there is no way of telling' whether
a bribed voter fulfills his part of the contract. In fact
it is rather generally felt among politicians that venal
voters take money from any source they can get it and
then vote as they please.-
The great campaign funds are gathered from a va-
riety of sources. Attempts have been made by the na-
tional and state government to require publicity on this
point. It is doubtful, however, if they have been wholly
successful. A great deal of money comes from large
corporations who are desirous of political favors. Some
-omes from office holders, although this is everywhere
illegal. Some, comes from candidates who, if they
have large means. are usually expected to pay .hand-

1

world, the United States has a
third.
Indications are that President
idge will call another naval disa
ment conference in the near ft
I He has already expressed his wi'
ness; and the Senate has al
passed a resolution authorizing h
do so. The critics say, however,
we should not allow our navy 1
weakened below the strength
scribed in the agreement, until
a move is authorized by another
ference.
The large problems facing the
secretary are, then, to cut dowi
fighting craft, increase the effic1
of the personnel, and make th
duced navy as strong as it shou
under the decisions of the Washli
[Conference. The naval treaty r
tiated at Washington removes the
ger of competitive naval building
thereby concentrates attention
personnel.
"Men .fight; not ships," must b
slogan of the new secretary, th(
perts say. This, with economy
the two phases of Mr. Wilbur's
which will occupy most of his ti
Students of government say
Secretary Wilbur is eminently
for his new task. He is a gra
of the Naval Academy, and at
same time a trained lawyer, bel
member both of the bench and
bar. He is the first Secretary o
Navy in recent years whto ma
called professional.a1-litherto it
been customary to select civilian
the post, in the belief that suc
action would ward off any fact
strife which might occur were a
man1to be appointed.iSecretary
bur, however, combines a know]
of naval affairs with the viewpoi
the common citizen.
v It has, been 'asserted that o ?a
the navy's chief weaknesses is i
of a definite policy regarding fue
serve. The recent oil scandal
brought this situation forcibly b
the public. Secretary Wilbur ha
pointed a commission of experts
business men to look into the I
lem.
"I believe that this commission
drilling of offset wells in orde
stop private concerns from dept
the oil in naval reserves," he said
my opinion, this will be absol
necessary unless we can induce
private concerns, now tapping of
serves with wells adjoining nava
serves, to divide their supply, w
in many cases is being pumped
sources underneath the naval
serves. of course, we cannot -
owners of so-called offset wells t
ter into an agreement to give the
ernment a certain percentage o
oil drawn from the vein in th'e m
reserves. The only practical rei
in that case is for the. Governme
begin drilling offset wells in a
tensive Way."
One problem which Secretary
bur faces with regard to the
sonnel of the navy is that of redi
the number of officers, which
gress has not yet seen fit to 'do.
present situation is that the Mnu
of ships has been reduced whil
number of commanders has not.
result has been that the navy is
loaded with officers, and top-h
with admirals. The situation
proaches that of the French na
which there cre two or more adn
for every capital ship. The fleet,
ics assert, is hampered by the
officers. Commanders are hin
on every side by a bureaucracy v
daily becomes more complicated
other criticism is that there i
the necessary sympathy betwet
fleet and the department. More
should be given the advice of shi
fleet commanders. And there s
be a greater emphasis placed o
duty.
One of the means by which
tary Wilbur is planning to effect
# omies in the operation of his de
ment is by means of cooperation
other departments of the govern
"For instance," he says, "I sha:

operate with the Department of
merce in surveys, radio, and the
tenance of lighthouses, with th
partment of War in the manufa
of guns and gun parts. In every
possible I shall further exchang
material between departments so
savings alrqady made may be
creased and a proper business s:
maintained in Government."
One of the main charges of c
against the operation of the
department is its lack of effic
Mr. Wilbur intends to remove
cause for this charge.
"The success of the navy de
,-tda moreon ff'iienv , m.t

I

- Dodd Japan pos-
>ns throughout the
the Philppines and
said that it would