The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-11-04
Meaning of Elimination
0fAYn1an1ent' Explained

of the world be likely to do SO. As well
might cities agree to abolish fire departs
ments because the number of fires were
gradually being diminished.
Must Keep Police Force.
Mr.. Harding feels that police force is
always necessary. In other words, II
armament should be reduced it should
never pass below the line of domestic
safety But while disarmament isn't in
tended, il is also interesting to reveal the
fact that Limitation of armament has
technical meaning in naval parlance and
so has reduction of armament Naval
experts have the same attitude as law
yers toward legal phrases. They have
reasoned it out that limitation of arma-
ment for instance. means Scrapplng ships
now in service but really obsolete. Each
navy has a number of such vessels. Once
they were firSt-line fighting craft. Now
they are relegated to the rear. but every
nation keeps sailors on them and spends
lot of money in maintenance. No one
nation likes to throw away obsolete ships
If the other nations keep them. So lim1-
tation would mean aboliShing by common
consent the expense of obsolete ships
That could, of course, be accomplished
without any special agreement about new
construction. It's the least that the COM
ing conference can do.
As for reduction Of armament" this
term means actually limiting the new
construction to the vessels now building
and limiting new appropriations only to
the replacement of obsolete ships. A spe-
cial convention or treaty would fix the
period of obsolescence so that a vessel
built in 1921 could, for example, be auto
matically replaced in 1881, and so on.
Americans Want Reduction.
The American navy is anxious to take
no Lon II IN n
not only of limitation but reduction. But
the problem is not as easy as a definition
of terms might suggest. What is meant
by new appropriations And does 1T
refer to inventions? If the limitation is
in terms OF money. some nation might in
vent new agency of warfare which would
be inexpensive but which would absolutely
alter the relative strength of existing
navieS Furthermore what about the
merchant marines? The merchant ships
of today are potentially valuable COM
merce destrOyers. Guns can be mounted
on their decks in a few weeks and they
can be converted into warships. England
has the biggest merchant marine.
America has Il vast number of ships, too.
Certainly no nation wants to limit the
building of ships used for commercial
purposes. Yet some agreement must be
made as to the conversion of those mer-
chaHtmen in time of war.
May IKE Forced to Increase Navy.
So the pubic can rest assured Of one
tbing-the United States doesn't intend
to scrap its army and navy merely to re
spond to an emotional demand that
America set the others Il good example.
America means TO force a curtaiment of
armament building. On that score the
United States has an advantage. For if
the rest of the world viii not agree TO
quit spending money for useless arma-
ment. the United States viii find herself
compelled slowly TO build the most power
full navy a1oat. That may sound like an
empty threat, but it is a fact that our
officials believe America viii have no al
tentative and that If the other nations
fail TO limit their programs the United
States viii be in a-good position to con
tinue her naval construction
America is not actuated alone, however,
by the desire to see the chances of war
minimized by a general reduction in naval
power. The United States would like TO
see the other countries cut down so that
the enormous sums now spent on armies
and navies could be better devoted to the
uphuilding of the economic strength of
each country. Furtheromre, If less money
were spent on armament less money
would have to be raised by the Europeans
to meet their tax bills and the price of
their paper currency in terms of gold
would CORRESPONDENCE rise This would
tend TO stabilize interpational exchange
and make it possible for America to sell
her agricultural and manufactured prod
ucts in foreign markets again. 1t would
mean a revival of business and an end
of unemployment. Also, it would mean
that the European countries which owe
America billions of dollars would be able
to begin payments on their war debt and
interest. The receipt of a half billion dol
lars of interest alone from Europe would
mean an immediate easing of the burden
on the American taxpayers.
Practical Reasons
Behind the urge for limitation of arma-
ment are practical and material reasons
as well as idealistic conceptions.
But how can armament be limited?
This correspondent has canvassed the
highest army and navy officials They
talk in terms of relatively. If America
ceases building 80 many ships so shall the