The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-30
People Back
Arms Farley
Formula for Limitation
Is Main Difficulty NolD
Facing Conference.
By MARK SULLIVAN.

Any person living in Washington
who is in a position to know the
state Of feeling throughout the
country about public affairs real
lies that the bulk OF this feelins
just now deals with the coming
armament conference. and expresses
itself in the question, ARE they 60
ing to accomplish anything?'
II this question has been put to
other persons in Washington as fire.
quently as II has been put to the
writer both in conversations and in
letters, the public curiosity. and, in
many cases. the public anxiety.
which 1t reflects must be universal
Only One Predicts War.
To some extent, the answer given
by Washington citizens to this
question depends upon tempera-
ment. Optimists will hold out ex-
travagant hopes OF an almost
Utopian outcome. while pessimists
win answer mo" and predict more
wars in the near future. This lat
ter prediction might as well be dis
posed of at once. The writer. in
the course Of his work. inevitably
has a great many contacts with
public men. both those in civil life
and those in army and navy life.
Rejecting on those contacts and
the conversations arising out OF
them, dealing with the coming con-
ference and with the state OF the
world In general, the writer can re-
call only one man who has predicted
further wars OF a major kind within
the next generation. And the man
who made this prediction is not in
as good a position to have sound
basis for Judgment as the many
others who either have taken u for
granted that there Is no war OF q
major kind ahead Of us. or who
have gone deeper into the subject
and given convincing reasons for
the same conclusions.
Led by Economie Forces
One Of the hopeful aspects Of the
coming conference Is that 80 many
Of the things 1t hopes to achieve are
practically sure to come about any
how. The emotional reaction from
the recent war Is in itself enough "a
go far towards preventing q recur-
renee OF anything like It Much
more soundly, the economic condi-
ton in which the bulk Of the world
finds itself as a result of the lac.
war Is such as to insure the i'm
probability OF another.
The very calling OF the present
conference, and the willingness OF
the nations to come into Il with
their hearts set on achievement Is
an expression OF conditions which
govern statesmen and which make
success for the conference mos,
probable. To a considerable extent
the coming conference will merely
put into formal shape the results OF
the working of economic and politi.
cal forces which tend toward the
same outcome. Let us start with
our own country. Is there any one
who supposes that any public mar
in the United States with the faint
est instinct for self-preservstior
would take a step so fatal to hi,
standing as to advocate an aggres
sive war on the part of the United
States?
War Traditions Abroad.
Now II is probably true that W,
| go farther in this direction than tn,
other nations. Japan has a militar,
tradition, and Great Britain hal
both a military and naval trsdi
ton, which makes the people o
those countries less intolerant o
war than the overwhelming mass o
\ Americans are. Nevertheless, II vi
know about our own, we would b.
freed of the apprehension that al
ways attends lack of knowledge o
the state of mind OF our neighbors
Both as to Japan and as to Grea
Britain the burden of taxation 70
. Contisssd on Paes Sc.