Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-09-06
HARDING CAREFUL
IN HIS PLANS FOR
ARMS CONFERENCE
President Does Not Want
Anti-CIimax Like That
Which Followed Meeting Of
Powers at Versailles
By DAVID LAWRENCE
(Leased Wire Service to The Journal.)
(Copyright, 1921


WASHINGTON, Sept. 8. - False
hopes made people forget the frail-
ties of human nature at Paris and
gave the peace conference an anti
climax which President Harding
seems determined to avoid in the
forthcoming session of the powers to
limit armament.
Mr.. Harding's speech at the Army
War college was intended to offset
exaggerated impressions that the
millennium could be reached between
nations through the fundamentally
of a single conference of powers. The
president would rather understate
his hopes and accomplish some prac-
teal results than to promise much
and find that international discord
made the fulfillment impossible. The
truth is the immensely of the under
taking is beginning to crop out in
official quarters. The administration
knows it has tackled a job upon which
it does not dare to fail Yet the cir
cumstances are not always within
the control of single nation. Agree
ments must be made by unanimous
consent. Any one nation can kick
over the traces and spoil the confer
ence. That's why Secretary Hughes
had to proceed with such caution in
the negotiations which preceded the
individual acceptances of the Ameri-
can invitation. The burden has not
been lifted by the agreement of the
powers to send delegations here. The
responsibilities are cumulative. In
saying what shall or shall not be in
cluded in the program, the nations
themselves will indicate how far the
conference will go toward practical
results These exchanges of view
now are in progress.
The president gave hint in his
speech at the War college On one
phase of armament discussion. He
set at rest any thought that the army
and navy would be scraEped. 1t is
inevitable that the morale of the ma
TONS army and navy should be
weakened by a prospect of curtail-
ment. AS commander in chief of the
army and navy the president express
ed the view that the time never
would come when fighting machinery
could be altogether dispensed with.
He favors approximate disarma-
ment. Woodrow Wilson expressed 1t
as a reduction. Of armament to a
point consistent with domestic safe
ty." Mr.. Harding has net yet out
lined whether he wants to go that
far or whether his idea is that the
American military establishment
shall bear a certain fixed relationship
that America intended to favor the
absolute abolition of armies and
navies was erased by Mr.. Harding,
who took pains to point out that
human nature is unchanged after
1000 years and that the spirit OF
polemics may be tanned but is not
forever extinct.
The president expects wars to come
in the future. He hopes they will be
humanely fought. He wants to re-
move the sources of friction. One
of those sources it has been argued
is the accumulation of war machln-
cry the use Of which is too tempt
ing when nations become irritated.
If armament provokes war. then the
president hopes the limitation will
be sufficient to prevent that from be-
ing said again There are other
causes of misunderstanding Mr..
Harding hopes as many as possible
will be removed. America will do all
she can to achieve that object. But
the presidents speech at the army
war college is significant OIL what the
ward the forthcoming conference.
1t will not try to do the impossible
but simply as much as it can toward
minimizing the chances of war.