New-York tribune., 1921-12-10
anomalies of Armament
4 State Of Transition in War-Weapons Wrongly Epouoed
Wisdom of the Conference
By Quarterback

| are not rooted over with inches of
steel or many feet of earth-can they
resist a rain of 1000 or 10000 pound
bombs night and day? If not, of what
use are they in 1921? If Japan, in
turn, wished to pursue a sinister
course toward the United STATES she
would induce US to throw a billion
dollars into the Pacific by building
forts on our bases and islands in the
Philippines. Another anomaly!
We now come to knotty problem
where sentiment and humanity find
themselves between the horns of
dilemma.
Menace of NaunIIsn,
Civilization revolts against the un-
restricted use of submarines, air forces
and poison gas in war. But these
forces may unquestionably defend the
weak nation against the aggression of
the strong. They alone will protect
small maritime power from invasion
by greater nation from overseas
Moreover, it must be realized that
the passing of the battleship will not
In itself relieve the weaker nations
from danger. On the contrary, the
nation Of wealth and power, even with
out a single battleship-Germany, for
instance-can mobilize armadas of
unarmored cruisers. transports and
merchant steamers loaded with mil
lions Of men, and throw them with ir-
resistible force against weak nation
that is not permitted to command the
air and the subsurface Of the sea on
its own frontiers or it's own coast. In
other words, these hated weapons can
alone secure the much desired Gree
dom of the seas" prevent domination
of the oceans by a future Germany
determined to rule the waves, as she
sought to rule the continents. They
protect small, weak nation from the
fate by sea that overlook Belgium by
land. Which is worse, German military
tyranny on land or German naval
tyranny on the sea?
All good people must pause and
study this subject. In seeking worthy
ideals they should not hide their heads
in the sand, blind and deaf to the
menace of unrestricted German naval
ism,' which might use cruiser and
armadas overseas in a manner to
bring as much suffering to small mari
time nations as did German "militar-
ism" to Poland and Belgium.
There will be complete unanimity on
one point in connection with new
weapons of warfare. Their use must
be SO regulated and restricted by in
ternational law as to protect innocent
non-combatants and neutra1s on land
and sea. Is this impossible? Then it is
likewise impossible to forbid the use
of these weapons!
Throughout the discussion of this
unpleasant subject let us never forget
the interests of the weak nations Of
the earth. We should not sentence
them to maritime oppression or
slavery by depriving them OF defensive
weapons.
Reviewing the subject, it is important
to note the future limitations of bat
tie fleets, armies in overseas war and
forts as a means of protection. In this
there is the chance to limit burden
some taxation the world over. It is
likewise important to rightly evaluate
air power and submarine power in
preventing domination at sea--n secur-
ing the freedom of the sea-" Shall
there be no such thing as freedom OF
the sea for neutrals and for unag-
gressive powers? Shall the sea be
ruled, as in the past, by few power
full nations?
In conclusion, some critics may as