The Colorado statesman., 1921-11-26
WILL ARMS MEET
Be OPEN AFFAIR?
COUNTRY is INTENSELY INTER-
EsTEp IN THIS QUESTION
STILL NOT SETTLED.
PUBLIC FOR FULL PUBLICITY
5est Opinion in Washington Is in Fa-
vor Of Allowing the Members Of the
Conference to Do as They Please
as to Closed Sessions.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.

WashingtOn.-ls the coming cOhler-
ence on the limitation of arlnaments TO
be an open affair? Is the public To be
allowed to know what is going on with
in the chamber of council, or are the
proceedings to be shrouded from the
eyes of the public?
Nobody can reply definitely as yet
to these questions, but they are up
standing today and an immense
amount of interest Is being shown in
the answers which finally will be forth
coming.
1t may be somewhat of surprise
to the country to learn that many ot
the persons most Interested in the sue
cess of the conference are among the
advocates of closed sessions. or ut any
rate of sessions which shall be open
or closed ut the will of the confer
ees.
On the other hand, there is de-
mand which Is growing In insistence
day by day that all of the meetings
shall be thrown open to the pubic. ex-
cept, of course, those In which votes
are to be taken on matters of high
moment, with view to making the
results public as soon as the opinions
of the conferees on particular mat
ter have been learned.
Questionnaires to prominent officials
in Washington and to Washington cor
respondents have come from several
bodies here and there, from newspaper
organizations and from individuals
asking that each person addressed give
his views as TO the advisability or
open or closed sessions of the confer
ence.
Public Is Suspicious.
Naturally enough the public Will
want to know what is going on within
the council chamber and also natural
ly enough the public is afraid that If
closed doors are the order of the day
some of the conferees may be able to
induce results by subtle methods
which they could not induce If the
world was auditor and spectator in
one. The word of every country which
is TO be party to the conference, has
been passed that everything done Will
be done in the best interests of limi-
tation of armaments and of proper
settlement of the problems of the Far
East. Is this to be depended on?
From the point of view of the State
department the word of every nation
whose representatives Will meet in
Washington, must be taken at Its face
value without so much as shrug OF
doubt. Diplomacy, of course, be-
lieves that the casting of doubt, or
even the suggestion of a suspicion con-
cerning motives, may work to the dis
advantage of frankness in the inter-
change of views, and also possibly to
prevent success from being attained.
1t seems to the writer that the ma
jority of worth while opinion in Wash
ington is in favor of allowing the con-
ferees to do as they please about
open or shut sessions. Experience has
shown, so some of the diplomats say,
that If the sessions are open the dele
gates will not speak their minds as
freely on various subjects as they
would If they knew that what they
say is not to be given to the world.
OF course it is realized that If the
delegates do not open their hearts to
their fellow conferees there cannot be
an entirely proper basis for negoti-
ations, because the feeling will be al
ways that something is being held
back.
Would Speak Freely in Private.
1t is conceivable, of course, that ia
pan, for instance, might not be willing
to say to the people of the United
States just what it is willing to say
I'm conference to delegates of this coun-
try on some question or other ike
that of Yap, If this small territory
can be taken as an example. 1t is
possible that in what may be called
a closet conference, the japanese
might be willing to give In specific
terms every grievance which they |
have, and every suspicion which they |
have of the motives of other coun- /
tries. They might give these grew
ances and suspicious to the conferees,
hoping that they could be answered
IN good faith and to the satisfaction
of the grievance and suspicion hold
ers. 1t Is not at all likely that any
country would like to give to the pub
Uc the entire roster of its fears and
suspicious.
washington is still puzzled as to
what it Is to do with visitors which
will come to the city this winter. This
matter has been touched upon in the
press quite frequently, but 1t is be-
coming a more grievous one day by
day. because it is fully expected that
the scenes of wartime winters in
Washington will be re-enacted this
wear. 1t is almost impossible today to
find anything vacant in the way OF
apartments or living rooms outside or
the hotels. The hotels themselves VIII
be in rather hard way to provide for
American visitors later on, because
the foreigners have taken whole floors
in many of the greater hostelries.