The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-06
JAP RELATIONS
WITH u. S. BAR
DISARMA AMENT
Col. HarUey's Speech
On Fourth Makes
This Clear.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Copyright, 1921 .
Especial to The Argus.)

washington, ID. C., July 6.-For
several weeks the Washington cor
respondents have been asking
President Harding and Secretary
! Hughes for information concerning
disarmament. What, they have in
quired, is standing in the way? To
all has been given the same answer
"a polite disinclination to discuss
the matter in any form beyond the
| general statement that informal
feelers had been put out to learn
| the attitude OF other powers.
Now, however, George Harvey,
American ambassador to Great
! Britain, and President Harding's
personal and official representative
on the supreme council, has at last
| lifted the veil of secrecy and con-
| firmed what has been suspected, but
| never officially admitted, namely,
| that our relations with Japan con-
! stituted the chief obstacle to i'm
mediate disarmament Here are the
words in Colonel Harvey's July
fourth speech at London, which
conveys more significance than any
by spokesmen of the administra-
tion:
Peril on Pacific.
For the first time in history the
turbulent Atlantic has become as a
mill pond, particularly eliminated
from considerations of dangers so
far as naval warfare is concerned
There is ground for good hope, how
ever, that whatever apprehension
exist of perilous possibilities on the
Pacific may be dispelled sooner
than is commonly anticipated
When, if at all, that splendid con-
summation shall be obtained in re-
sponse to the apparently universal
desire, disarmament will follow
naturally and inevitably, and peace
on earth will be assured for years
at least, and it may be forever.
rs this glorious aspiration too
much to expect? Why should it be?
Obstacles many and grave there
are to be sure, but what are they?
What can they be but barriers sur
mountable by a concert of purpose
on the part of all the nations direct
ly concerned and no less directly
responsible TO OtnerS!
Japs Are Suspicious.
Nobody in the Harding admins
tration has heretofore made a point
of the fact that the naval power of
the United States was practically
useless, or rather potentially un-
necessary, while at the same time
referring to apprehensions in the
Pacific. 1t is true that the concen-
tration of American naval forces in
the Pacific has been the result of a
steady growth of suspicious that
the next naval war would be
fought in the Pacific On the other
hand, it is also a fact that, instead
of allaying apprehension in remov-
ing distrust, the transfer of the
fleet to the Pacific has been looked
upon by the Japanese as a move re-
quiring further activity on their
part and Fastening their naval
building program
Must Solve Special Problems.
Meanwhile, in the field of diplom-
acy several other moves have been
made which have accentuated the
fact that until the special prob
lens existing between the United
States and Japan are solved, the
friends of disarmament will be
hammering away at a stone wall.
If anybody else in the adIninistra-
tion except Ambassador Harvey had
drawn attention to ''perilous possi-
bilities on the Pacific" the utter
ance would have been passed by
without significance But Ambas- |
sador Harvey has been entrusted |
with the very task of canYaSsing the
sentiment of the other governments
concerning disarmament, and his !
conclusion, that apprehensions con- !
cering the relation between the |
United States and Japan must first
be dispelled before there can be dis |
armament, is looked upon today as
the frank answer and key to the |
whole disarmament situation.
Angio-Jap Alliance.
The statement by Baron Shide-
hara, Japanese Ambassador to the |
United States, to the effect that the |
proposed Anglo-Japanese alliance
was not intended as hostile to the |
United States, is recognition by |
Japan of the sentiment which has
been growing in the United States
against the renewal of the alliance.
The British government has found |
it necessary TO assure Canada ana !
that the Anglo-Japanese
alliance does not require the Brit |
ish empire to assist Japan IN the |
event of a war with the United |
States. Indeed, there is no escap-