The Washington herald., 1921-12-25
HUGHES SPRINGS
SURPRISE BY new
SUBMARINE OFFER
Conference Split wide
Open" on Undersea
Craft Issue.
Continued from Page One.

came as a complete surprise aud
was Immensely pleasing to the
British delegation. who had not
hoped for anything like a one-third
cut As a matter of fact, II was
accepted by the entire conference
as a tribute to the eloquent pre-
sentatton of the British side of tho
problem by Mr.. Balfour and Lord
Lee. Both had admitted. even be-
fore the subject was reached. that
they had little hope that their
views would prevail. The action of
Secretary Hughes in suggesting a
drastic cut at the earliest possible
moment after the British demands
had been bowled over was accepted
as another diplomatic victory.
Final settlement. of course. rests
with France. and, in lesser degree.
with Japan. Italy win make any
concession compatible with national
honor in the interest of harmony.
But IL BRAND shall insist on equal
tonnage for submarines with Great
Britain, IL may take a long time 70
reconcile the opposing views.
BRAND Believed Opposed.
At French delega ton headquar-
tiers the statement was made last
Right that Premier BRAND and MS
cabinet very probably would reject
the Haghes proposals.
The. amount of tonnage suggested
Is entirely out of proportion to the
needs of France" explained the
spokesman. TT is, of course. clear
that Chairman Hughes has tried to
meet the British opposition by cut
ting his suggested allotment figures
to the bone. But in doing so he
has. undoubtedly most innocently.
overlooked the necessity Of France
having submarine feet that can
clear the Mediterranean and make
without risk of destruction by any
enemy. or course, Premier BRAND
will carefully consider the Hughes
suggestions. but I am inclined to
believe that he will find that they
ask too great a sacrifice and that
II VIII be necessary for France 10
submit counter proposals.
Italy Explains Policy.
Italian circles made il very clear
that. so far as they are concerned,
Trey are not so much concerned with
the ratio as they are with compel
ling complete recognition Of their
claim for a navy equal in every way
TO that Of France
our coasts must be protected"
said one OF their spokesman. "and
We must be able to communicate
with Italian territory everywhere.
We believe that we are entitled to
equal consideration with the French
and naturally will insist on that 10
the very end. But on the question
Of the final submarine tonnage to be
assigned each nation Italy will do
everything possible to bring about a
decision satisfactory 20 all"
The japanese delegation is in
clined to stand out for the original
$1,000 tons suggested by Chairman
Hughes. Its position at the pres
emit time Is one of waiting. The
Japanese have referred the whole
subject back to Tokyo, together
with recommendations by their
corps of naval experts here. 1t is
entirely likely that they will be
found lined up with France for a
large ratio in opposition to the
British and American efforts to
scale the tonnage down.
Hughes Disappointed.
There was no Disgusting the
feeling of disappointment in Amer
lean circles last night over the
failure to reach an agreement on
the submarine matter. Secretary
Hughes had hoped that il would
be out of the way not later than
last night in order that he might
announce as a Christmas gift to
the world that another Of the very
knotty problems OF the conference
was solved. He was of course dis
appointed but he was in TO way
disheartened- The discussions
have been prolonged and the
points of difference have been
sharply accumulated. but through
out all OF the proceedings there has
been an evidence of honest hone
fulness and of desire to reconcile
divergent views. 1t is due to this
that the American delegation re-
mains confident that when the
agreement actually is reached it
will be found entirely satisfactory
to all concerned.
Last night the indications were
that the submarine question would
remain under consideration in the
full naval committee for at least
three or four more days. In fact
II a decision is reached next week
IL will be a noteworthy accomplish
ment. Then will come the mat
ter OF other auxiliary vessels and
this subject also will precipitate a
row.
British Feel Need.
The British delegation, defeated in
their endeavor to have the subma-
rins outlawed. are determined to in
sist on a very large allotment of
light cruisers and other vessels
,apaole Of fighting the submarines.
The British delegation insist that
they cannot understand the tena-
eious manner in which the French
hsve been lighting for an enormous
submarine fleet. And they state,
with some show Of feeling. that they
will be compelled to insist on an
auxiliary navy large enough and
powerful enough to fight any sub
marine strength that may be as
signed to any OF the nations of the
world.
In this, however, the French are
Expected to agree with the British.
This French naval viewpoint is that
lnasmueh as they have sacrificed
thar desire to build and maintain
large feet of superdreadnaughts
they have the right to be recon-
psnsso by having their authority
confirmed to construct a large aux
Hilary navy. So IL entirely is within
Inc bounds Of Possibilities that when
The problsm Of other auxiliaries is
reaehsd France and Great Britain
Will be found aligned together, al
though from widely different mo-
flysa
Other ouestions Delayed.