The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-11-13
FRANKlESS WILL
DISARM SUSPICION,
SAYSDA TARBELL
Believes Farley Must Add
To Respect for
Order.
~ IDA =. TARsnLL.

NJ IDA =. rARsELL.
1t viii not be many. days now be-
fore almost everybody in the coun-
try will be having a chance TO look
at the conference for the limita-
ton OF ornaments. II will NIL pages
of our Sunday papers with its pic
lures; 1t will move nightly across
our screens. We shall learn to
know the faces Of its leaders and
how they dress. smile. frown.
There is no doubt of the impress
sion Of dignity. authority and abil-
ity that the conference will make
ON us. We are pretty sure to con-
clude that II looks ash II deserved
confidence. deserved the backing OF
strong. intelligent. patient pub
lie opinion. bent on its success. The
serio us problem at the moment Is.
What will be. its idea of success?
Is 1t to be a conference limi,
ing ornaments in order to cut ia,
ation-a sort of glorifed inter-
tional committee on tax reduction,
or Is IL to be a conference limit
ing armament because il has cut
out certain familiar reasons around
the Pacific Ocean for internatfona
jealousy and suspicion and no long
er needs SO many guns? ,
GivinG War Body BLOW.
In the hrst case Limitation mean,
giving the God Of War a rest. {
second means giving him a body
blow.
The war Is believed to have cost
wealth. and yet on top of that she
spent In 1920 something like S422.-
ooo.ooo on her navy. France lost
one-fourth Of her wealth. but in
1870 the estimated budget for her
army was 4.2s6.so0.0oo francs. The
onitea states on top of one esti-
mated gross war cost up to Janu-
airy l. 1871. Of over $4,000. 600. 900,
was confronted last March by a re-
9uest from the navy of something
IKE @1oo'oo0,o00. The naval COM
hi'tee' anxious to show their in
.erest IN economy. cut the sum TO
,49S'ooo'ooo. and nobody knows what
VIII hnaiiy be appropriated. That
oepehos on the conference.
Japan Is believed to have come
ou' VI the war, which cost her mn.
sooo.ooo'oOo. with her wealth
uouoied' but the question OF hold
ing ina. wealth keeps her at the
onsr-oreed'ng task OF building a
"h,ch VIII match that of Eng
land and the United States-,ode,,
Its strength is not far beb,na ,hoi
and in efficiency il ranks as an anna1
that is. nation whose wealth h..
peen estimated at s23.50O. 900 Doo !.
compared with England's sIao ma
ooo'ooo and the s350.0o0, 900 ooo ot
the United States. is attemptinp q
theirs. 70
'apan's Questions Embarrsss.
is 1t any wonder that, when the
people OF Japan learned of the l,ni-
,auon of armament proposed oy the
Chited states. they insisted that the
nation take advantage of the
chanceZ Their elder statesmen
opposed the move. but met a popu-
lar opposition which forced theu
to yield. Japan comes 10 this 60
ference with the backing Of her neo.
pie in the program of Iimitation
moreover, she comes knowing tba,
no inconsiderate group Of her in
tellectuals and statesmen be,ieve
mat the great war has demon
strated for all time the fallacv Of
national progress in the modern
world through the exercise of force
VI course. this is a rude blow TO
her IDEAS of what is at the bottom
or western civilization-the strong
est thing In II. She naturally. from
ne rexperience with the Occident.
has believed 1t to be armament, Ar
the start she was forcibly intro
uuced to her present colleaC CUES at
the Washington conference. and
when she decided to accent their
ways she was intelligent enough to
seek instruction from Germany-the
nation that had developed force to
It's most perfect form and that
packed II up by the boldest, clearest
PHILOSOPHY. She saw that Germany
was whole-hearted about war-the
others practiced II. but were more
or less ashamed of 1t. Japan went
TO Germany for help in building a
modern military establishment, and
now she sees her TEACHER over
wheimed. She dimly realizes that in
the catastrophe there was involved
an equation of which she had not
taken Notwithstanding that Ger
many refused to believe in. and
!
spite of their haIf-faith in it.
Japan is getting her first lesson in
the part that moral force plays in
western affairs in spite Of all the out
RACES practiced upon IT by the nations
That believe In II and are trying so to
express It In international machinery
That 1t will have free and full play.
IL viii be an immense catastrophe
III she finds that the present confer
ence Is concerned only with taxation.
What Disarmament Would Mem.
And. yet what relief cutting the
burden Of war. taxation would give
the world. Suppose the conference
should say We will reduce at once
~ the simplest, most direct method
cut down so per cent OF our APP
preparations for FIVE years. and be-
FORE the term is ended meet again
and make a new contract.
What a restoration Of the worlds
hope would follow. How quickly the
mind springs to what such a decision
would bring to wretched. jobless peo-
ples-the useful work. the schools.
the money for more bread, better
shelter. leisure for play. How much
OF the resentment at the huge sums
now going into warships. cannon. naval
bases, war colleges. would evaporate.
The mere announcement would
soothe and revive the world. and II
would make war for a time more diff
ficuit. Labor today bitterly resents the
thought that It may be asked to spend
fC l.