Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-11-14
PROBABLE BASIS
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4VO1Z A1x@xl OLAOAO
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or either of them. Battle cruisers
would be invaluable, perhaps vital, to
successful prosecution of a naval war
across the Pacific, it was said.
At any rate. the American proposal
has made a fat proposition in regard
to battle cruisers, which it was
thought might be very difficult of
treatment at the conference. 1t re-
mains to be seen what Japan and
Great Britain think about it, but 4
long step toward agreement on that
question has been taken, naval folk
believe.
The actual business OF negotiation
of the conference will get under
way tomorrow, when the heads of
delegations will meet to discuss pro-
Cedure. A subject likely to develop
into one of the most important of
the whole conference. From every
one of the interested powers have
come expressions empha sizing that
the order in which the topics appear
on the program would have a sig
nificant bearing on the ability OF the
conference to move quickly toward
practical results.
TO agree on the preliminary de-
tails. two meetings will be held In
the morning. the committee on pro
gram and procedure for limitation
of ornaments. of which the heads
of the American, British, French.
Italian and japanese delegations are
members, will assemble to consider
the armament end of the program
and in the afternoon there will be
a meeting Of the committee on pro-
gram and procedure for the Far
Eastern questions consisting of the
delegations of all nine of the ma
tions, holding seats in the confer
ence.
During the afternoon, the Ameri-
can advisory committee of II also
will meet and Chairman Sutherland
will announce the personnel of the
SIX subcommittee. whose creation
has been authorized to facilitate the
handling of special subjects.
While these meetings are being
held, technical advisors of the vari-
Gus delegations will further study
the American proposal under which
tonnage figures in capital ships for
the three powers for immediate re-
duction would be:
Great Britain. G04. $50; United
States. 500. 659; Japan. 300. 700. The
list of ships to be retained by each
chnu-c hot Dit ;ol,
ponderance over the United States
is practically all in her four battle
cruisers. In that way. apparently,
the American group worked out Mr..
Hughes general statement as to the
necessity of having regard ito the
existing naval strength of the pow
ers concerned"
SO far as battleship tonnage goes.
in the retained fleets, the American
and British forces would be about
the same, around 100000. and that
of Japan Just under 100000 This
links up directly with Mr.. Hughes
suggestion as to a replacement pro-
gram, based on fixed tonnage for
each power. to apply only after 10
years of no building of any kind
Then. under the American proposal.
Great Britain would be allowed to
maintain up to 100000 tons in cap
ital ships. the United States the
same. and Japan :W.0W.
In other words, after ten years. the
British fleet must be brought down
to the same tonnage basis as>the
American. while the Japanese would
remain substantially where it was at
the time of the first reduction. APP
parcntly it is expected that the Brit
ish strength would be reduced suffi-
GENTLY by attrition, the wearing out
Of ships, during the ten year period.
statistics as to the gun power of the
three fleets to be retained under the
reduction program show that the
United States and Japan would each
have one ship mounting eight sixteen
inch rifles.
Great Britain would have ten ships
carrying a total of eighty Is inch
rifles; one carrying ten IA inch guns.
and her other seven ships would be
armed with the British 1875 guns. used
by neither OF the other powers She
would have seventy of these sfoat.
The United States. in addition TO
the sixteen inch gun ship. the Mary
land. just commissioned would have
eight ships carrying twelve IA inch
guns each; four carrying ten "a inch
each. two carrying twelve II inch and
four carrying ten II, inch. Japan. in
addition TO her one is inch gun ship,
would have afoat forty-eight IA inch
guns and twelve il inch on her bat
tleships and thirty-two il inch on her
battle cruisers.
The figures further illustrae that the
British preponderance in the proposed
Immediate cut is embraced in her four
battle cruisers. as the gun power OF
tho two battleship fleets would be diff
ferent in makeup but approximately
the same. There is little doubt. how
ever. that American naval opinion
would rank American battleship feet
as superior.
In round terms. the American re-
placement proposal means that under
the agreement outlined the fleets of