The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-11-06

ROaFPTT this country. So SMALL the conference be- fore 1t is many days old will resolve itself into the question of how far the United States can accommodate its views to those of the more en- tangled powers.
 It Is useless to deny that France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan are l coming to Washington with ideas based upon the doctrines of the older diplomacy. The delegates and at taches talk in the terms of alliances. Yet the wiser statesmen from the old world and from the orient must know how determinedly the United States is opposed to alliances. President Harding had taken pains to make that point clear long before Ambas- sador Harvey spoke Thursday at Liv- erpool.
 Interest in Suggestions The older nations are interested therefore in the form which the United States will suggest to the con- ference.
 What commitments can the Presi dent make in the name of the United States that will be satisfactory to the other powers and serve as substi tute for their faith in the alliance? Limitation of armaments can come only through some form of agree ment. treaty or. hated word, cove nant. covering d guarantee of the necessary international adjustments that will make heavy armaments no longer essential to certain national aims and aspirations. It is for the United States to devise the means of attaining an international end by new international methods.
 The week has been marked by the glamor of arriving delegates and at- taches. But the tumult and shout ing have not dimmed the fact that the hope of the conference sits calm ly in the White House, confident in his own optimistic mind that there is sufficient of good in the world to make this new move for humanity success
 Already as a result of the contact with President Harding and with the clearer atmosphere or Washington, where old world intrigues are un- known, some of the skepticism brought by the arriving delegates and the members of their suites is begin ming to melt away. This skepticim has been but ill-concealed behind the painfully polite statements given out by the distinguished visitors. Being couched in the most punctilious diplo- matic language these statements were more or less meaningless. But the skepticism has oeen nothing to wonder at. Europe has been witness | ing a perfect parade of conferences | ever since the treaty of Versailles was signed, and most of them have been fruitless. But this is the first l great political conference of the na- | tions to be held in the new world and there is hope that it may mark the beginning of new order. | Harding Understands | The foreign envoys now in Wash | ington have found with eminent sat isfaction that President Harding un- derstands and sympathizes with most of their views. They are bringing to Washington nothing that is new to him, nothing he had not considered before he determined to call the con | ference on limitation of armaments and to widen it's scope to include all | of the delicate problems of the Pa cific and far east.
 | President Harding moves about al ways in an atmosphere or concilia-
 tion and it Is this spirit that leads
 to further hope for conferences sue | cess.
 The British envoys have learned, possibly with something akin to I amazement, that President Harding
 does not look with disfavor upon
 maintenance of a big fleet by Great 1 Britain-the biggest fleet in the | world for that matter. The PreSi- dent feels it would be foolish to close | his eyes to the peculiar needs of the I several powers which will sit in
 the Washington conference. Great | Britain's life is dependent upon her shipping and Mir. Harding realizes
 she must at all times be able to keep
 the sea lanes open for her vital
 commerce. To deprive England of proper naval strength would be to
 threaten her with national disaster. ! The President is determined there shall be no such threat at the con | ference.
 The Japanese envoys have learned
 with satisfaction which has l brought them much reinsurance that l President Harding sympathizes with | Japans need for expansion and Is
 anxious that she shall attain her le- gitmate ends without feeling her
 self forced to fight for them. It will l be the province of the conference. according to the Washington view. l to find the means for Japan to solve
 her problems which are cfeariy
 understood here. Whether Japan's ideas on this subject will coincide | with those of the other nations de- | sirous that peace shall continue to
 reign in the Pacific remains, of | course. to be seen. In any event, it Is assured President Harding's atti- tude toward Japan is reasonable one.
 To Renssurc France
 The French envoys will learn upon their arrival here that Presiden. Harding believes the conference
 must find some means of reassuring 1 France as to her future safety. He | believes this reinsurance can be given without the necessity of an alliance. Premier Briand and his associates demand for protection for | France in the event she demobilizes
 a large part of her standing army l will not come as surprise or cause unexpected complications.
 While Germany has been left out ! of the conference, President Harding realizes that country cannot be ig- nored. A rehabilitated Germany will ! be too important factor in the af-
 fairs of the world to fail of consid- .cration in the forthcoming confe- : ence. Furthermore Germany nat