PRESIDENT HARDING JOINS FIGHT TO SAVE NAVY FROM CUT IN ENLISTED PERSONNEL
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 14, 1922, President Warren G. Harding "threw himself into the fight to save the American navy from a cut in the enlisted personnel."
The cut, Carter Field reports, "would place this country's sea power far below the 5-5-3 ratio established by the Washington conference as the relative strength of Great Britain, the United States, and Japan.
"Big navy men" assert that tomorrow the McArthur amendment, fixing the number of naval personnel at 86,000, will be adopted.
JFK+50 NOTE
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 1923 Appropriations Bill with the amendment fixing the enlisted naval personnel at 86,000 (per President Harding's request) by a margin of 73 votes.
SOURCE
"Harding Calls On House for 86,000 Navy," The New York Tribune, April 15, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
