The Washington herald., 1921-12-10
LONG SUSPENSE
BROKEN ATLAST.
SIMONDS CLAIMS
Pacific Agreement Awaits
Only Assent of Paris
And Tokyo.
By FRANK H. SIMONDS.

The long suspense over the nature
and terms of the Pacific agreement
between Great Britain, Japan.
France and the United States. which
already has been named the Harding
Doctrine, will be broken at a session
of the Washington conference to-
day. The conference was hastily an
ncunced last night on the receipt
% final and favorable answers from
Japan and from France.
, Conclusions drawn from state
ments made by Baron Kato and
others indicate that the text of the
new agreement has not Yet been
finally written. but that at least a
full outline OF this all-important
undertaking will be ready for the
session today. Equally clear is the
intimation that the question OF the
naval ratio remains open and that
, this, together with the Chinese set
| tlement will remain for future
agreement
As to ;he French circumstance.
the statement is that France owes
! il to Mr.. Hughes that what was
suggested originally as a tripartite
agreement-inCludi Britain. ia
pan and the United States-was eX-
OAl + AhsAN DtNtilbtE at
the now famous session attended
by Mr.. Balfour. Baron kato and
Mr. Hughes. the British and Jap
anese representative proposed a
three arrangement Mr.
Hughes urged that France be in
cluded. and Mr. Balfour and Baron
kato then asked for a delay to COM
municate with their respective gov
Wednesday that the assent OF To-
kyo and London arrived.
Await French Approval.
On Wednesday afternoon NJ Vi
viani received copy OF the pro-
posed Pacific understanding TO
transmit to Paris for French ap-
proval. The message was not sent
| until Wednesday night, and-as IL
required submission TO the presi-
dent of the French Republic and
the French cabinet-delay was in
evitable.
Meantime, while many versions
OF the agreement are current to-
day. the really interesting circum-
stance being the news that suffi-
GENTLY definite statements have
been made to members of the Sem
ate to prevent any suspicion on
Capitol Hill that Senate rights
| would be violated. Thus various
Senators were told, first. that all
agreements would go TO the Senate
flor approval and second, what has
always been certain from the start.
that no agreements would carry
commitments or involve entangle-
ments: in word. that the sole
! obliga tions incurred would be guar
antees of our own performance. not
of that of any other country.
We are then close to a very i'm
Iportant declaration of policy,
whether. one describe it as the
Treaty of Washington or the Hard
| ing Doctrine, and. as l have said.
both forms of nomenclature suggest
themselves. The American policy
in the Pacific is to be defined in its
relation to Japan, Great Britain
ard France. 1t is also to be defined
with respect to China, but not ap-
parently in the document hourly
expected.
Two Problems Unso1ved.
Following this disclosure of a
settlement in Pacific questions,
which involves an adoption OF
naval ratio, the elimination OF the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance. and the
provision of a basis of settlement
in peace and not by arms of any
future disagreements, there VIII
remain two serious matters 20 be
dealt with-the Chinese question
and the problem of naval ratios IN
\ Cosfinged ON PAGE Three.