Henderson Daily Dispatch

By CHARLES P. STEWART
Central Press Staff Writer
Washington, March 20.-A sea-power race between Britain, the United States and Japan apparently is inevitable.
France and Italy also will be in the contest, but not as serious contenders. Russia, as a competitor, is not to be reckoned with until later. Germany likewise may have to be considered some time in the future, but not now.
The 5-5-3 ratio (5 for Uncle Sam, 5 for England and 3 for Japan), which theoretically, though not very literally, has prevailed by mutual agreement, since early in the 1920's, evidently is to go into the discard, as soon as Tokyo can terminate the bargain in due diplomatic form.
COMPARISON DIFFICULT
There really is not much use in trying to compare navies on any mathematical basis.
It is mighty difficult to compare different classes of ships with one another, as an initial consideration.
That is to say, for example, how many cruisers are the equivalent of how many first-class battle craft?
How many destroyers or submarines equal how many plane-carriers?
Moreover, how old, on an average are one country's fighting vessels as against some other country's average? And how is the average arrived at?
The size of a country's mercantile marine counts too.
In one respect a big merchant fleet is a liability; the bigger it is the more protection it requires.
In another respect it's an asset: a fast liner can be converted to many useful war purposes.
GEOGRAPHY AN ITEM
Geography is a factor which must be taken into account.
The British, in armament negotiations with Uncle Sam, always have been willing to allow plenty of small cruisers but inclined strictly to limit the number of the respective nations' huge battleships.
This, of course, is because John Bull has an assortment of naval supply stations widely scattered over the whole globe, while the United States has comparatively few outside home waters. Thus a little British cruiser, with a fuel-carrying capacity of only a few days, needn't worry; it is assured of a fresh stopping place not much farther on, to refuel and otherwise refresh itself under its own flag - whereas an American vessel must be equal to a long voyage between ports, necessitating considerable size.