HARDING DIRECTS WORK ON 14 U.S. SHIPS BE SUSPENDED
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 8, 1922, Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby* ordered construction on fourteen capital ships suspended. The order was given at the direction of President Warren G. Harding after his conference with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt.
The President was advised of the necessity of the order "in anticipation of ratification of the naval limitation treaty."
The New York Tribune reports that only three of the vessels were "to be completed as warcraft," while the remaining eleven would be scrapped or converted to merchant ships.
The suspended work on eight super dread-naughts and six battle cruisers will save the government $5 million a month.
*Edwin Denby (1870-1929) was born in Evansville, Indiana & served as Sec of Navy under Presidents Harding & Coolidge, 1921-1924. ED played a notable role in the Teapot Dome scandal.
SOURCE
"President Halts Building of 14 U.S. Warships," The New York Tribune, February 9, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
