New-York tribune., 1921-09-09
British Labor
Demands Stop
To Armament
Six Million Workers Insist
All War Preparations of
Empire Cease Until After
Discussion in Washington
Ask Seat at Conference
Must Assure u. S. There Is
No Menace in Japanese
Treaty, Thomas Declares
Special Cable to The Tribune

/ Copyright 1921. New York Tribune Inc
CARDIFF, Wales, Sept. 8.-The Brit
ish Trades Union Congress, in session
here to-day, adopted by an overwhelm-
ing majority resolution protesting
against the carrying out of the govern
ment's naval building program and in
dorsing the November conference in
Washington on the limitation of arma-
ments.
James Henry Thomas, head of the
National Union of Railwaymen and one
Of the most brilliant speakers among
the labor leaders of England, assailed
the British expenditure for ornaments
and demanded that labor be represent
ed on the British delegation that went
to Washington. The resolution, of
winch Thomas was the author, put g.
100000 workers on record in favor of
the suspension of eli of Great Britain's
preparations for war until after the
November conference.
We have gone through the war to
end war" said Thomas, s'but, after sac
rificing millions of lives, our cxpendi-
lures to-day are two and half times
what they were in 1914. There were
horrors in Crimea-horrors that made
the country ring at that time-yet the
present generation remembers the
Crimean War only by The Charge of
the Light Brigade
We have to go to Washington, be-
tore the treaty OF peace with Turkey is
signed and within two years after the
signing OF the Treaty of Versailles, and
admit that we have laid down four bat
tleships this year which are going to
cost between f30,00O,0O0 and f4O.OO0.-
OOO. That is a mockery and a farce.
Are we not entitled to ask whom we
are building against at this moment ?"
Some one in the hall shouted:
"America!"
"We have treaty with Japan"
Thomas went on, "a treaty that has
caused more friction in America than
anything else because of the on
knowledge that there are differences
between Japan and America. The
american people say, and rightly. that
4 we have an alliance with Japan and
II this alliance meant that we would
have to take sides with Japan and
could only be against America. That
Is not only the reasoning of the Amer
lean people, but it is what the enemies
or England In America are daily propa-
eating in the minds Of the people.
"There is no sane man in either this
country or America who can conceive
OF any circumstances that would war
rant a rupture between America and
ourselves. We must meet this disarm-
ament conference with clean hands
and say, as an evidence of our good
| faith, tina. we are not going on with
building more battleships, and that we
want to set an example to the re-
| inainder Of the powers"
Cheers greeted Thomas at the close
of his address. Several other speakers
supported him. including Ben Tillett.
secretary Of the Dock Workers Union
and Robert Smillie, president of the
Miners Federation. Smillie, who was
making his first speech after many
months of retirement, was given an
ovation. lie asserted that the miners
would prefer to continue the sufferings
they were now undergoing through
employmen than to be rid of them
through preparations for another war.
There was much applause when Smllie
said that the international miners
conference had agreed to call a gen.
eral strike in the event of another war.