The daily times., 1921-09-05
MEET
NOT EXPECTED TO
BRING MILLENNIUM
MAY NOT END WARS
President Harding Does Not
Want to Arouse False Hopes
as to the Results of the Pro-
posed Meeting and He Says
There is Need of Army ard
Navy.
(By David Lawrence)
Copyright 1921, by The Daily


Times.)
Washington, Sept. 3.-False hopes
made people forget the frailties of hui
man nature at Paris and gave the
peace conference an anti-climax
which President Harding seems de-
ter mined to avoid in the forthcoming
session cf the powers to limit arna-
ment.
Mr.. Harding's speech at the Army
War College was intended to offset
exaggerated impressions that the
millennium could be reached Letween
nations through the instrumentality
of a single conference Of powers. The
President would rather understate
his hopes and accomplish some prac-
tical results than to promise much
and find that international discord
made the fulfillment impossible
The truth is the immensity of the
undertaking is beginning to crop out
in official quarters. The Administra-
tion knows it has tackled job up
on which it does not dare to fail
Yet the circumstances are not always
within the control of single nation
! Agreements must be made by unani-
nous consent. Any one nation car
| kick over the traces and spoil the
conference.
That's why Secretary Hughes haG
to proceed with such caution in the
negotiations which preceded the in.
: dividual acceptance of the American
| invitation. The burden has not beer
lifted by the agreement of the pow
ers to send delegations here. The
responsibilities are cumulative. IL
saying what shall or shall not be in
cluded in the program, the nation:
conference will go toward practica
results These exchanges of view.
now are in progress.
| The President gave a hint in hi:
speech at the War College on one
phase of armament discussion. He
set at rest any thought that the army
and navy would be scrapped. 1t is in
evitable that the morale of the ma
tion's 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 i
as "a reduction of armament to {
point consistent with domestic safe
ty" Mr. Harding has not yet out
LINED whether he wants to go tina
far or whether his idea is that thu
American military establishment
shall bear a certain fixed Relationship
to that of other powers, Any ides
that America intended to favor th'
absolute abolition of armies and ma
vies was erased by Mr.. Harding whc
took pains to point out that human
mature is unchanged after 1900 year
and that the spirit of polemics ma!
be tanned but is not forever extinct.
/ The President expects wars t.
come in the future. He hopes the,
will be humanely fought. He want
to remove the sources OF friction
One of those sources it has beel
argued is the accumulation of wa
machinery the use of which is to-
tempting when nations become irri
tated. If armament provoke war, thel
the President hopes the imitatio
will be sufficient to prevent that from
being said again. There are othe
causes of misunderstanding. MI
Harding hopes as many as possibl
will be removed. America will do al
! she can to achieve that object. Blu
the Presidents speech at the Arm
War College is significant Of VIVA
the entire Administration view vii