The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-11-17
ARMS CONFERENCE
OPENED ON FRIDAY
DRASTIC DISARMAMENT PLANS
PROPOSED BY THE UNITED
STATES.


ing of the Armament Conference al
Washington Friday says:
"More drastic and far-reaching than
the most ardent advocate of disarm-
ament dared to hope, Americas pro-
posals were suddenly laid before the
arms conference a; its first session
by Secretary Hughes.
A ten-year naval holiday is the pro-
posal in short, and the United States,
Great Britain and Japan shall scrap
&C capital ships, aggregating 1,7S7,043
tons.
Within three months after the con-
clusion of an agreement, the United
States would have 1s capital ships;
Great Britain % and Japan 10. The
tonnage of the three nations respect
lively would, under such a plan, be
SOC, $50, ,6O4,4 ,450 and 299,700.
Ships when twenty years old, might
be replaced under the plan, and the
replacement scheme is 100000 tons for
Great Britain and 100000 tons for
Japan. No replacement ship could
exceed $4,000 tons.
The United States would scrap 80
capital ships aggregating s43,74O
tons; Great Britain 10 aggregating
5S3,375 tons, and Japan II aggregat-
ing 44s,92s tons.
The figures include old ships to be
scrapped, ships building or for which
material has been assembled.
Characterized by Baron Kato, the
chief Japanese delegate as every dras-
tic" but probably suitable as a basis
for discussion, and by Mr.. Balfour,
head of the British delegation as "a
statesmanlike utterance, pregnant
with infinite possibilities and most
hopeful of satisfactory results" the
American proposal, concrete and de-
tailed, fell on the opening moments
of the great conference like a bomb
shell. The foreign delegates were
stunned. No other word describes
their feelings.
The principal features of the Amer
lean plan proposed:
That for not less than ten years,
competitive naval building cease as
between Great Britain, the United
States and Japan.
That all capital ships building or
planned to be scrapped and few re-
Gently placed in the water be destroy
ed within three months of ratification
of the agreement.
That the older ships of each fleet
be destroyed, reducing the British
force to twenty-five battleships, the
American to eighteen and the Japa-
rese to ten, each ship to be retained
being specifically named.
That during the agreement no cap
ital craft be laid down except under a
detailed replacement scheme included
in the proposal which would provide
for ultimate equality, of the British
and American fleets and for a Japa-
nese force of 60 percent Of the
strength of either of the other two.
That naval aircraft be disregarded
in the scaling down process as a
problem incapable of solution owing
to the convertibility of commercial
aircraft for war purposes.
That no naval building of any char
acter be undertaken in any Of the
three countries on foreign account
during the life of the agreement.
That no capital ships hereafter
laid down exceed $4,000 tons.
That the life of a battleship shall
be fixed at twenty years, and that
ships to be replaced be destroyed be-
fore the replacement vessel is more
than three months passed completion.
That no battleship replacement
whatever be undertaken for ten years
from date of the agreement.
That no combat craft be acquired
except by construction and none be so
disposed of that it might become part
# another navy.
That regulations to govern conver-
sions of merchant craft for war pur-
poses be drawn up because of the i'm
portance of the merchant marine Gin
inverse ratio to the size of naval arm
aments."
Those are the outstanding features
of the sweeping challenge Secretary
Hughes presented to the other naval
powers. There was complete detail
covering every phase of the question,
but the essence of the proposal lay in
this:
That the United States offered to 60
far beyond what she asked Great
Britain ofiJapan to do, viewed from