THE VINSON BILL

Congress has completed the passage of the Vinson Bill. Chalk up another victory for the Roosevelt cohorts. Having publicly adopted the "policy of the good neighbor" in international relations, and having gone on record against all unnecessary expenditures, the Administration has now used the prestige gained by its accomplishments in the recovery program to force through Congress a Big Navy bill.

Earlier this year an enlarged budget for the navy was approved. But not great enough to close the insatiable maws of the Big Navy clique, to which unfortunately, the President lends the full weight of his power. They demanded that the navy be built up to the top strength of the Washington Treaty 5-5-3 ratio. The terriffic cost, from 750 million to a billion, did not deter them; the Vinson Bill was formulated and favorably double-checked by Congress.

The chief argument advanced in favor of the bill is not that our present naval defense is insufficient for the national safety. Rather it is that a Treaty-strength navy will place us in a favorable bargaining position at the 1935 Naval Conference. The success of the Washington Conference should have proved that practical agreements on naval disarmament are more often reached when nations approach the diplomatic tete-a-tetes with actual evidence of disarmament as well as desire for it. Demanding smaller navies on one hand and building larger ones with the other, our government will end up by leading another armament race. The United States, because of its comparative security, is peculiarly fitted to set an example to the world in disarmament. It is disappointing that it should choose the easier way of joining with little reluctance in preparations for the next war.