The daily times., 1921-08-16
NO FORMAL INVITATION
A Big Reason for the Calling o
the November Conference In
Washington Was for the
Discussion of Far Eastern
Questions Between Nations
and Disarmament.
(By David Lawrence)
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
TiDopC \

Times)
Washington, Aug. 15.-Great Brit
ain would like to broaden the Anglo
japanese alliance so that in its place
would be a treaty between the United
States, Great Britain and Japan.
Indications of the British desire
have reached here in a purely infor
NAL way and throw an interesting
light on the motives and hopes of the
powers who will be assembled at the
Washington conference.
The United States government has
not been asked to become party to
the Anglo-Japanese alliance-noth
ing so formal as that has been sug-
gested though it is interesting to
note that the japanese press as early
as last June began discussing just
such a plan. The American govern
ment is aware of the British attitude
as reflected in the statement made
to the Dominion premiers and it is
considered the better part of wisdom
here to make no comment, direct or
indirect, upon the vicissitudes of
British diplomacy.
Yet the big fats are coming out
slowly to show why the Washington
conference was summoned and what
were the controlling influences in the
conversations which preceded the de-
cision to call the nations together not
merely on disarmament but on Far
Eastern questions.
The most significant statement from
the British thus far which has not
failed to be noticed here is the fol-
lowing sentence in the summary of
the official proceedings of the Imper-
ia1 conference of dominion premiers:
tIn accordance with the suggestion
which was believed to have been
made by the American government
that the conference on disarmament
should be preceded by friendly con-
versations or consultations between
the powers principally concerned in
the future of the Far East and the
Pacific, the imperial conference, anxi-
Gus that for the AnglO-Japanese
agreement there should be substi-
tuted some larger arrangement be-
tween the three great powers con-
cerned namely the United States,
Japan and Great Britain, discussed
these preliminary conversations or
consultations which the American
government had in principle agreed
should be held in London
The British official account indi-
Gates that owing to a misunderstand-
ing as "to the nature of the sug-
! the British government including
Prime Minister Lloyd George and the
Dominion Premiers were prepared to
lattend are meeting in Washington in
stead of London and Japan "signifed
her willingness to attend But the
British official summary goes step
further and remarks that "The
American government however did
not favor the idea which was accord
ingly dropped"
In other words back of the sug-
gestion. of a preliminary conference
at Washington to precede the larger
conference in November was hope
that the United States would some
how announce her adherence to an
enlarged Anglo-Japan6Se agreement
to be a three cornered sort of often
sive and defensive alliance. The Brit
ish government saw in such pact
way to appease the Dominion pre-
miers and at the same time heal poss-
ible friction between the United
States and Japan. But the American
government squelched the suggestion
of preliminary conference without
even permitting the subject of an
enlarged Anglo-Japanese alliancefto to
come up for formal consi9 fratioh.
CONTINUED on past 81