The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-11-10
u. s. Will DEAL
With EXISTING
ARMS STATUS
American Suggestion To Deal
With Things as They Are
Exact Proposals Not Made
Public.
CONJECTURE ABOUNDS
(By Associated Press)

(By Associated Press)
WASHINGTON. Nov 10.-Proposals
to be made by the American delega-
ton to the conference on limitation of
armaments, apparently constitute the
only suggestion prepared in advance
as to ways and means of curtailing
naval expenditures without sacrifice
by any power of national security
Great Britain is not known TO have
! worked out any formula; Japan is
awaiting the American suggestion:
France and Italy are more concerned
with land forces than navies.
Active exchange of views is taking
place between the delegations in or
der to agree upon the program for the
inaugural meeting Saturday
Up to the present it seems that the
opening address delivered by Pres-
dent Harding will be followed by the
proposal from the English delegation
to appoint Secretary Hughes as presi-
| dent of the conference which it is ex-
| pected will be approved unanimously.
! Secretary Hughes will address a few
words of welcome TO the foreign dele
gates, but it has not yet been decided
whether there could be any replies
! A proposal has been made that NJ.
BRAND being the only premier pres
/ ent, should speak in the name of all,
/ but it was thought that this is not pos
sible, as each country has an attitude
| toward the conference not entirely
! identical to the other, therefore either
. the president of each delegation will
reply or nobody will speak.
! Immediately afterWard a committee
will be formed of the heads of the
delegation representing the five great
powers which already is called the Big
Five for the drafting OF the agenda.
Conference to Adjourn.
Another committee composed of the
representatives of the delegations OF
the four smaller nations, Holland, Por
tugal, Belgium and China, will be ad
ded for theagenda concerning Far
Eastern problems. The conference
will then adjourn until Tuesday when
the reports of these two companies
will be presented.
Two days before the conference
"opens the American proposals remain
a closely guarded secret 1t is doubt
full if any but President Harding, the
/ four American delegates and possibly
1.-THE highest officers and officials of
the navy department know exactly
what the proposals are.
This much is known: A definite
formula for agreement on limitation OF
naval forces has been reached by
I Secretary Hughes and his colleagues
of the American delegation. The for
mula is an entirely practical one. It
does not attempt TO state any general
rule for establishing equitable rela-
tivity of naval forces between the pow
ers.
/ It does not attempt to fix a common
denominator by which all navies could
be divided and each power assigned
by agreement the number of units it
could maintain with world approval.
American Suggestion
The American suggestion will deal
with things as they are. 1t will be a
plain proposition of ships, built, build
ing or authorized; of naval bases; of
: of the vital element of naval replace
ments, of the potential naval signifi-
: cance of merchant marines and of
other concrete existing or planned
weapons and auxiliaries of naval war
= fare.
Also it is regarded by those who
= framed the suggestions as a bold
{ stroke for naval reduction; possibly
: too bold for immediate realization.
Beyond this limited outline Of what
has yet been available,
! Washington is filled, however, with
j, conjecture as to what the American
= delegation will propose. There are
,. almost as many theories as there are
, men to talk about it and their name is
: legion.
The explanation given by Admiral
Baron Kato, head of the japanese del
egation of Japan's attitude in enter
,, ing the conference and her willingness
to cut down her naval program un-
: der agreement, has added to the spec
ulation Lacking the moving factor
in the seeming deliberation, however,
the American proposals, it is difficult
to say to what extent Admiral kato'
utterance has cleared.
: Touched Heart of Matter
There is a feeling in some well in
formed circles that Baron Kato touch
ed the heart of the matter, in stating
lJapan's willingness to reduce her now
! famous eight battleships and eight
: battle cruiser fleet program. To that
sequence is to be added a third eight
as under japanese standards of Nav
al obsolescence a capital ship has a
4 first line life of but eight years and
;, must be replaced by a new ship with
+ in that period.
h The American navy has no such
r definite objective. It does not repre-
f sent an ordered program of replace
/ ment for maintaining any fixed force
/ on a fixed ratio of battleships and bat
e tie cruisers.
The old British two-power standard
l. which governed the building program
n prior to 1914, went by the board with
n the German fleet. Britain is not to-
T day building any capital ships.
0 Four new battle cruisers have been
s authorized in the way Of Replacement,
n for war losses and to balance that
If side of the fleet, but they have not
been laid down.
Status Not Known
The exact status of Japan's new
craft is not known 1t is certain
NJ however, that Japan has not started
construction on all the super warships
a her eight and eight program would re
q quire. That fleet ratio, Earon Kate
=. said, would not be achieved before
1928
The American program of 1915 ra