Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-11-26
WASHINGTON
DAY BY DAY
(From Our Special Correspondent

washington, NOV. 20.
tor Lodge, of Massachusetts. one OF
the members of the American dele
cation to the arms conference
emerged from the meeting OF the
Committee on Far East questions
Yesterday afternoon, he was held up
by waiting newspaper men and
questioned concerning the delibera-
tions of the Committee. The Massa-
chusetts Senator was giving some
points about the meeting when he
was warned by former Senator Root,
another member of the American
delegation.
Senator" said Mr.. Root, "you
cannot tell the press anything about
what transpired at this meeting, but
YOU can give them some dope on
what is going to take place in the
future"
Both delegates laughed and so did
the newspaper men, and Senator
Lodge resumed his story.
President Harding has been urged
bv delegation of gold star mothers
to use the battleships contemplated
to be "scrapped" by the United
States under the Hughes plan of ma
val disarmament, to transport
mothers who lost their sons in the
World War to France to visit the
cemeteries where their loved ones he
buried. The members Of the delega-
ton explained to the President that
there are hundreds of gold star
mothers in America who are anxious
to pay tribute to their sons who are
buried in cemeteries in France but
have not the means to pay passage
for such a trip. They told him that
in view of the fact that the United
States has taken the lead in calling
upon the principal nations OF the
world to declare a ten-year naval
holiday and scrap a certain number
of their ships, such vessels could be
put to no better use than transport
ing to Europe the mothers OF ne
American heroes who lost their lives
in the World War and whose bodies
are still buried in foreign soil. The
President promised to give the sug-
gestion his careful consideration.
Arthur James Balfour, the chief
British delegate was. quick to deny
an inference from a newspaper re-
port to the effect that former Presl,
dent Woodrow Wilson had SAID TO
him: "Another war will soon be upon
us and it will be caused by the pol
icy Of France
Mr.. Balfour is an old friend Of the
former President. He met him here
in 1917 when Balfour headed the
British mission to thank the United
States for coming into. he saw
much of Mr.. Wilson in Paris. and It
was on a basis of friendly interest
in the ex-President's health that
Balfour called at the Wilson resi-
dence. This was more than a week
AGO. The war statement attributed
to Mr.. Wilson said to have been
made to "a friend" on Tuesday
could not have been made to Mr..
Balfour as the Balfour visit was
made last week. The anxiety OF Mr..
Balfour to disassociate himself from
the newspaper story was in part due
to the strain under which Franco
British relations are now laboring.
There was no information in the
British delegation today as to the
coming of Premier Lloyd George,
but it was not denied that he might
meet Premier Briand before he took
ship for the arms conference. Ac-
cording to the British spokesman,
the British delegation is we'll pleased
with the work of the conference and
the progress it has made and the
handling of matters in which they
are vitality interested by Mr.. Balfour
as acting head Of the British mission.
Of course, the British delegation in
Washington at present will welcome
the appearance of Llovd George in
the deliberations of the conference,
for they realize that their cause
would have noble champion
through the visit of the English
Prime Minister.
AS the Conference on Limitation
of Armaments and Pacific and Far
IL