The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-14
india UbL|C|ST
.SEESHUCHES|N
CH|LD|SHERROR
BattIeshIp Scrapping Plan
Would Make England Supreme
and Stir Trouble in Orient.
BY sYUD HOSsAIN.


linda Pubiiclst and Nationalist
Leader, here - an observer Of the
armament confcrence.]
Secretary Hughes proposal of a
naval holiday and permanent restric-
ton in size of the navies of America.
Great Britain. and japan 10 a mag
nificent evidence Of the unselfish de-
about world peace.
But as practical proposition Mr..
Hughes suggestion is loaded with
dynamite. II the rest of the American
program may be Judged by this one
then It were better President Harding
had never called the conference. for 1t
will only serve to aggravate the
wounds left by the Paris peace con-
ference.
Mr.. Hughes proposal would result
In Great Britain remaining In undis-
puted possession of the seas; every
ocean would be an English lake. and
the commerce of this country would
be at the mercy Of the British. japan
would be reduced to third-rate power
and kept in that position.
For the British no more advanta-
geous proposal could have been made.
Britain today Is IN the position of q
boa constructor, which, having gorged
itself, requires time in which to digest
Its prey. OF all European nations,
| Britain alone IL solvent, but she lacks
| cash. and the ten-year naval holiday
would give her time to capitalize the
| inundated territories acquired at the
Paris conference.
There can be no peace until the en-.
thralled nations of the world are lib
txSd tod In, atsE
jugation more than one-third of the
human race. and II Mr.. Hughes pro-
posal were carried out by this country
and Japan 1t would give England nm
challengable control of a vast proper
ton Of the natural resources Of the
WoeA
II would be folly to attempt to make
a burglar innocuous by depriving him
of his revolver II you let him keep his
skeleton keys and Jimmy and chloro-
form. Equally futile as step to
world peace would 1t be to deprive
England of a few ships.
80 the proportional naval red'ic-
tiohs would only serve to cripple the
| United States and Japan as rivals FOR
British commerce.
For Japan acceptance of the pro-
posal would be suicidal. especially rs
| there Is q desire to have the Anglo
Japanese alliance denounced at the
same time.
That alliance divides all Asia into
| two spheres. Japan is given a free
hand in China, Korea, Manchuria, and
Eastern Siberia. and the south and
| central and western parts of Asia
| from Siam to Constantinople is left
| open to British seizure and exploita-
| ton under guarantees that japan wfll
not inerfere. a
Certainly Japan Will not consent to
be deprived of what she has come to
| consider her rights, II England also
| In not deprived OF her usurped power
| In Asia, Mr.. Hughes proposal then
| will simply inflame Japan and arouse
the races of Asia, who see in the pro-
posal a strengthening of the British
| position in their countries.
There is another point that seems
| to have been overlooked. Mr.. Hughes
proposal specifies the reduction and
Limitation of the navies of Great Brit
| ain. Japan and the United States.
| Nothing Is said about the three self
| governing British dominions-Canada,
Australia and South Africa. The
three British dominions could carry
| out-as independent nations, any pro-
gram Of naval construction the moth.
er country might direct.
In the reports Of the opening Of
the conference. I have noticed that
Mr.. Hughes proposal is described as
coming like bomb and that the
foreign delegates were amazed. Both
descriptions are true: but II one
could search the minds Of Ralfour
and some of the other easoned-or
should ] say Observation-Disclosures
I suspect one would find that their
'amazement was not so much at
the daring of the proposal as at the
child-like innocence In international
affairs the suggestion betrayed.
Mr.. Hossain. who was editor Of
the Independent. the largest national
newspaper in Northern India, and
also of the official organ of the
Indian National Cong -css In London.
was one Of the three specially elect
cd Indian delegates sent to Paris IN
1920 to put the Indian case before the
conference that drafted the peace
with Turkey.