The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-05-18
.BORAH'S FIGHT FOR NAVAL
DISARMAMENT BIC IN PUBLIC EYE
Momentum In Favor of the
Id a h o Senator Stand
Comes Largely From the
Women of the Country
BY Mask SULLIVAN.
National Political Correspondent
Of The lntelligcncer.

National Political Correspondent
Of The Intelligcncer.
Washington. May II. Thn biggest
thing in Washington this week is Sena-
tor Borah's insistence on conference
between America, Great Britain and
! Japan, looking TO limitation OF arma-
ment Compared TO this issue. tarlh and
taxation and confined, for the moment
/ to the attention Of special groups.
Just who is furnishing the opposition
/ that enables Senator Borah to drama
tie his campaign as fight is NOT clear.
! The orthodox republican leaders IN The
senate put their opposition on the
ground that they are protecting i'rcSl-
dent Harding from embarrassment. HOW
much there il in this plea cannot be
told. Apparently. Senator's Hale ana
! Ioindexter talked TO Harding about H.
and got the idea that he doesn't wanl
this resolution passed just now. On
the other hand. Borah himself talked 10
Harding, and apparently got the idea
, that the President did not obJec TO ms
going ahead.
! Administration Attitude.
Probably the mere fact that Harding
and the admin Stration arc extremely &C.
cupicd with many other things has as
much to do with II as anything else
Also, II is quite within the possibilities
that President Harding may be more OF
less contentcd to let Borah build up
demonstration Of public opinion ana
may like 10 seem TO have MS manu-
forced. He may like TO have an aloi
when he comes TO mentioning 10 foreign
governments Il matter when the! Will
regard as dEagreeab!e.
When YOU ask the regular Republican
LADDERS why America shouldn't 60
ahead. with call for a conference be-
tween the three nations, they give rea-
sons which are sincere but not convinc-
ing. They say that it isn't time tor II
vel, or that il ought to be done later
on in connection with a larger program
i'm the entire field Of foreign affairs, or
that we ought 20 so ahead ana get n
, big fleet first before "" max" pro-
posal or that Japan wont diSar:n an!
how or that Great Britain won't be In
q mood for disarmament until me mas
STRUGGLED along litt!c further under
thu burden Of heavy costs. y turtner
complaint made is that II is rmanrraSS-
ing for Harding 10 have TO act win Il
vocal and agitant democracy pack OF
him accustomed to creating pubic opln-
ion, whereas the statesmen OF Japan ana
Great Britain suffer less interference
from their respective puhlicS.
1t is clear that 50 far as public opln-
ion is concerned, both in the RANK and
Ale Of congress an dthroughout the
country Borah has the best or ~; ana
If the conflict is prolonged much TAR
1hcr, the administration will be at dis
adyantage The administrator ~ very
busy with housekeeping. Both in do
nestle and foreign affairs l. rces Il
chaotic mess, and is dong fine 1oo
in bringing order in to 1t.
Sense Of Proposition.
But it isn't enough that a"y states
man or any administration should DC
merely a good flelder--on occasion II
must also be good batter. - ISM
enough that all the incoming tc!erhoh"
calls are punctiliously cared for and that
the desk is kept clean. A great cAccu-
tive must occasionally do something big
in the way Of an outgoing cal!--Some-
. times a long distance call. \ cabinet
which devotes one whole session 70 dis
cussing business condition in Alaska
md ignores disarmament may We con-
scIentious and businesslkc. but most
emphaticaly it has lost the pou;:cian'S
sence Of proportion as TO what the pub
lie is thinking about.
Borah knows what the public is think
ing about. None better. lie has natural
nose for it, He makes il his business
10 keep informed, and he doesn't nave
10 worry, as the president and the cab
met members must. about the multltu-
dinous daily details OF the government
housekeeping.
If the administration is to maintain
the prestige it deservedly has. IT must
avoid drifting into the unpopular posi-
ton on such an issue rs disarmament
The momentum in favor OF Borah
position comes, so far as the country IS
concerned. largely from women and as Il
survival of the idea ism which expected
the Peace Conference to do something
about preventing future wars. so far
as the lower house Of congress il con
cerned. the support is related closely /"
reducing taxation. The members or the
lower house realize that within a year
they will face the primaries and other
machinery for reelection or defeat. and
. they know that. one of them eX-
pressed it. they haven't a Chinaman' =
chance unless they have done something
big enough to be felt in the way OF re-
ducing taxes. Their best. III rct. al
most their only opportunity in this re-
spect Is in the field OF war expenditures.
On this point. the lower house IS quite
out OF the leaders hands and is looking
out for number one. In reouctns the
size Of the army. the lower house went
to extremes.
From the standpoint: OF the country.
the risk Is that II Harding does not call
a. conference OF his own initiative. con-
gress may sooner or later force worse
alternative. All that Borah Is asking is
that Harding call the three nat:""r into
open conference. with the sun stream
ing in on them and the world listening.
10 talk about mutual llmita-on Of arm
aments by agreement. II that is not
done congress may force disarmament
on America alone by the simple process
OF refusing appropriations
"ClarR. who was the fellow that