The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-08-31
MUST HAVE LEAGUE
 TO STOP WARS


 Washington, Aug 3o-A written binding compact between the United States and leading nations, to pre- vent wars of aggression, and to com pei arbitration of international dis puts must precede any material re- duction in military or naval arma- mentS, Senator Porter J. McCumb Der, of North Dakota, ranking Republi- can member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, declared today. Unless the United States is willing and able to bring about a league or an association of the bigger nations to prohibit war and enforce peace, the approaching Washington confer ence on disarmament and kindred problems. will. in Senator McCum- ber's Judgment, fail to decrease the crushing burden of armamentS. A mere agreement to reduce arm aments is neither possible nor prac- ticable, Senator McCumber believes | Neither Great Britain, France, Italy nor Japan would consent to one, he | is certain. unless the United States were willing to go further and join | with them in a solemn definite, CO., operative understanding, duly set ] down in black and white and signed, | that neither shall engage in war of | aggression, nor refuse to arbitrate | whatever contentious may arise be- | tween them.
 Total disarmament is out of the
 question, and will remain so," Sen
 mutual agreement between all na- tions capable of making war, war is made an impossibiHty.''
 And just to the extent that Pres ident Harding is able to consummate such an agreement between the pow erfu1 nations," he, continued, just to
 that extent will he be able to decrease the burden of armamentS.
 | 'In it's last analysis, diSarnla ament is all a question of faith-faith is the good intentions and peace purposes of all nations and that faith, in the ] 1frr1,+ nf TIS Iii be very strong without a written compact whereby nations solemnly agree with each other not to under take wars of aggression, and to sub- init to arbitration every purely in ternational dispute which may arise between them"
 Such a compact must precede not only complete disarmament, but, to my mind, it must precede any great or substantial reduction in military or naval armamentS.'
 It is Senator McCumber's opinion ! that Great Britain alone will not con- sent to the Scrapping of her navy. All of the nations invited to the Washington conference already have | very important navies,'' he said. Those war ships they possess are unfitted for any other purpose than for which they were intended. They wifi not be destroyed or thrown into the discard. Therefore, we can eliminate every idea of world without navy. The nations will keep what they've got. All Of them have heeavy programs for increases in naval armament were | in process of construction and the very best I believe we can hope for is to 'abbreviate the several warship l building programs as much pos sibIe, and to prevent any important | additions to the size of the respec- l tive -1avies.
 Until We are able to bring all of the important nations into a joint
 agreement, each pledging national
 faith to all the others to refrain from
 all wars of aggression, no nation will feel itself safe from war. We could
 discarde our entire navy with far
 greater safety than any other coun-
 try, because we can produce within
 OUT own borders every element of
 national life.
 ''Neither Great Britain, France nor Italy can do this, and inasmuch as the very dife of one of these nations,
 at least (Rritain) is dependent upon
 her ability to keep open every source
 of clothing and food, this nation can-
 not be expected, and I am Sure she
 would never agree, to join in any proposal for complete disarmament.
 unless every other nations did the
 same, and even then, her own dis
 amament would have to be depend
 ent upon the equivalent impotence of
 other nations from purely military and naval standpOiut''