The Washington herald., 1921-11-14
BRITAIN'S ENJOYS
SAID TO APPROVE
HUGHES PROGRAM
Steed Reports Them Fa-
vorably Inclined to
Americas Plan.
ny wICKHAM sTEED.
EaitOr Of the London Times.


finite import to the English-speak-
Ing world and as a turning point
in human history.
Trust in the accomplishment of
delegates from day to day The
deep meaning and religious rev.
erence Of Fridays ceremony at
Arlington, with its conscious and
deliberate evocation of the ideals
of the great war. and its equally
deliberate projection into coming
decades of the resolve that in SO
far as concerted human endeavor
may avail, offensive war shall
henoeforth cease. were carried with
out suggestion OF continuity. into
the even more pregnant ceremony
in the Continental Memorial Hall
Saturday. The nobility of thought
and unaffected earnestness Of Pres
ident Harding's inaugural speech
set the tone OF q noble occasion.
Matter-of-Fact.
Like President Harding. Mr..
Hughes Is q handsome. virile figure.
Clear and firm OF speech, grave OF
manner, forgetting device in his
absorption in his subject. he de-
livered his Introductory passage in
an even voice. as free from JUNCTION
as from declamatory emphasis. The
sense of perspective revealed by his
citation of the late Cars rescript
to the powers in 1899, proposing
the first Hague conference; his re-
gretful illusions to the feeble re-
suits of that conference and of its
successor in respect to Limitation
Of ornaments: the vigor of his
references to German opposition to
disarmament in 1907 and to Ger
many's Astounding ambition
which lay athwart the promise of
the second Hague conference" re-
assured and gratified even the most
critical of his hearers.
But the audience was first reused
as. in a penetrating tone, he said.
the time has come, and this con-
ference has been called. not for
general resolutions or mutual ad-
vice, but for action"
Between the Eyes.
These words evoked ringing
cheers. For the first time the great
company felt the thrill OF i'm
pending deeds. Naval ornaments,
continued Mr.. Hughes. are of pri-
mary Importance. The core of the
difficulty is competition in naval
programs. A vital part Of the plan
for Limitation of naval armament
would be a naval holiday. Then, on
the basis of four general prin-
ciples. Mr.. Hughes summarized his
remarkable proposals.
To understand their effect upon
the assembly 1t is necessary to
remember that the foreign delegates
had not been prepared in advance
for a statement SO concrete and so
categorical. Some delegates may
have known that important sug-
gestions would be made. but none,
not even those who have had the
advantage of intimate intercourse
with Mr.. Hughes. knew how wide
would be the scope and how search
ing would be the character of the
American plan. There Is indeed
reason TO believe that in some
cases Mr.. Hughes had laughingly
told delegates that he would not
tell them what he intended to say
/. British Faverably Inclined.
The ideas formulated by Mr.
Hughes were not an improvisation
| They have been carefully worked
out, and though some calculation
OF their actual bearing on technical
points may be necessary. they
stand in their present form as the
mature conclusions of the Ameri-
can government.
Some days will probably pass
before the positions of the various
delegations towards the proposals
can be authoritatively defined. Con-
,ultation between delegates and ex-
pert advisors will naturally precede
any public statement of their con-
clusions. Nevertheless l feel l am
violating no conf1den II 1 say
that the impression among the
British delegates is overwhelming
ly favorable.
The breadth and boldness of the
American plan has gratihed those
who feared the conference might
ornaments and the political prob
lem. of the Pacific. It il felt tina,
the United States has given SC
strong . lead to the conference
and has impaired such momentum
to its deliberations. that practical
results may be far easier of at
tainment than they might have
been II Limitation had been left
to discussion by expert commits
sions, and a nu nber of conflicting
proposals had been simultaneously
advanced.
Press Enthusiastic.
The general feeling was that the
United States had done a big
thing in q big way, setting an ex-
ample which others would be bound
to follow in broad principle. how
ever careful they may have to be
in working out details OF appli-
cation. A sense Of the sacrifices
which would inevitably be entailed
by acceptance of the American
scheme hardly mitigated gladness
that q scheme Offering SO fair a
prospect Of success for the con-
ference, and SO real a reduction OF
the burdens Of naval armament
should have been SO candidly FORM
ulated.
In the American press, and
among the public generally, the
action Of the executive is acclaimed
with the utmost enthusiasm. The
suggested sacrifice Of $332.ooo.0o0
already spent on the 1916 naval
program is gladly accepted. as will
be also the further prospective loss
of heavy additional sums involved
in the liquidation of current con-
tracts.
American Pride.
Estimates that the adoption OF
the plan will save the American
taxpayer $500. 100000 a year are al