The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-24
BARREN
Of GOOD FAITH.
P0L|T|CUS SAYS
Lofty Aims" Shelved as at
Versailles and Struggle to
Strengthen Imperialism.
BY POLITICUS.

BY POLITICUS.
The arms conference has adjourned
tor brief Christmas holiday after six
weeks OF work. The world had high
hopes when the conference began. The
that gathered in Washing
ton were to find means for lessening
the burdens OF armament, and this
burden was to be made pos
sible by solving the problems of the
Far East, by restoring China and
Russia, by eliminating conflicting in
terests. and by establishing good faith
among the nations concerned.
1t was a beautiful task. The pro-
testations of this good faith reached
their climax in Senator Lodges presen-
tation of the text of the quadrilateral
treaty.
Lodge Greed OF Good viii.
1--WE rely upon the good faith of
these four great nations to carry on.
the terms of this instrument he said;
knowing that by SO doing they will
prevent war should controversies ever
5rise among them. If this spirit pre-
walls and rules we can have no better
support than the faith of nations. For
one, i devoutly believe the spirit OF
the world is such that we can trust
TO the good faith and the high pur-
poses which the treaty j have laid
Lefore you embodies and enshrines."
Noble words! But where did he get
them? Where did the Senatorial evan
galist .imbibe the inspiration that made
him continue?:
change in the mental condition Of men
and women everywhere. That which
really counts is the intention OF the
nations who make the agreement. In
this hour of trial and darkness which
has followed the war with Germany
the spirit of the world Is no longer the
same. II we enter upon this agree
ment, which rests only upon the will
end honor of those who sign 1t, we at
least make the great experiment and
appeal to the men and women OF the
nations to help. us sustain 1t In spirit
and in truth"
Words Found Unjustified.
There has been nothing in the six
weeks of arms conference sessions OH
which even the blindest dreamer would
base such beautiful language. We
search the records of the conferences
in vain for some evidence of changed
spirit of the world" Other orators
than the poetic Senator from Massa-
chusetts have INDUCED. in the open
sessions of the conference, in high
Gown words and beautiful visions of
eternal peace. Sometimes, like the
Senator. they have been intoxicated by
their own eloquence. But they quickly
came to earth again. Surely the bick-
crings and the intrigues Of the secret
SESSIONS. the shifty playing with double
meaning words. the Quarreling over
submarines. the bargaining over
strategic railroads, the large promises
and the small fulfillments, have borne
little testimony to genuine good faith.
Why should there have been a week
Of haggling over a single battleship II
the naval holiday to be proclaimed was
promised on good faith? or what value
is a battleship in a naval holiday? II
japan were trying honestly to restore
Shantung to China, WHY should 1t re-
quire weeks of cabling to Tokyo to
discover a way by which China would
have the shadow and Japan would re-
tain the substance Of her plumber? III
the conference were in good faith, why
should the quadrilateral treaty have
said one thing and a secret interpreta-
ton been agreed upon to make IL mean
another? Why, IL not because the con-
ference pretends to be a conference for
the preparation of peace and is actu-
ally a conference for the preparation
of war? Why, IL not to demonstrate
that the powers are seeking not TO
avoid war but to obtain advantages
that will be Of value when the war
comes?
Genuine Trust Lacking.
In all these weeks Of open and secret
sessions IL is impossible 20 put a
finger on a single incident that demon
strated a genuine trust by one nation
in the good faith of another. Every
development of the conference has
demonstrated that the real purpose Of
the participants has been to obtain
guars ntees for possesions-legal OF
illicit-to win safeguards for their con-
quests, and to pave the way for more.
All that the conference has accom-
plished so far-if what it has written
is finally put into execution-has been
to tighten the armament of the great
powers. Big nations found that their
peoples would no longer tolerate the
extravagant war burdens demanded
by the hope of conquest or the hope Of
retaining conquests. To abandon
armament, however, would make the
weak as powerful as the strong, would
leave the conqueror no stronger than
the oppressed. So it has been the task
of these conferees to find a golden line
on which war burdens would be made
cheap for the powerful. yet not cheap
enough to be within the reach of other
nations that might aspire to contest
with the big three their war-won pos
sessions.
British Fear Competition.
The, conflict with France demon
strated this. England wanted her
naval costs as cheap as possible and
yet not so cheap that France might
compete for the supremacy of Europe.
Even more dangerous was the fear
that a little nation like Holland
which had once been a world power OF
the first rank-might aspire again to
contest with England the dominion OF
the seas IL cheap submarine naviGs
were not prohibited.
This is a strong indictment OF the
honesty OF a conference called TO
confer upon the world the blessings
Of peace. But IL it is not mer1ted,
why does not the conference do some
single thing to demonstrate real
intention TO carry out the lofty pur'