Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-12-09
Of
FQRT|F F|CAT|ONS
AND NAVY BASES
IN FOREGROUND
Developments Give Prom
inenCe to This Question
While Jap8 Thresh Out
the Naval Ratio Problem.
JAPS AND CHINESE
DISCUSS SHANTUNG
Four-PoWer Plan to Pre-
serve Peace in the Pacific
Is Discussed at a Confer
enCe of "Big Four"

'
Washington, Dec. s (by the AS
sociated Press )-While they wait
| for definite replies on the naval
ratio plan and the proposal for
four-power agreement in the Pa
cific, the arms delegates are push
! ing ahead with other features of
the negotiations.
Today's developments brought
into prominence for the first time
/ the question of q limitation of for
| jtifications and naval bases in the
| Pacific islands, and although the
subject was not advocated to the
stage of formal exchanges, an
! agreement was forecast preserving
| in general the existing status.
Again applying the American
-four points to the Chinese prob
lem, the nine nations in the Far
! Eastern committee pledged them
selves to make no treaty or agree
ment in future infringing on
China's territorial or administrative
integrity or interfering with her
right to economic and national de-
Ivelopment.
Shantung Negotiations.
progress was less pronounced, but
1.-THE japanese and Chinese delega-
/ tions held another consultation on |
public properties and afterward
both sides renewed their prediction |
of satisfactory settlement.
The fourpower plan to preserve |
lpeace in the Pacific was discussed
Mt a conference between heads OF |
= -, To, I'D
, French delegations, but it was said !
afterward no definite word had yet .
been received either from Toxic or !
Paris. The British government is ,
understood to have already accept /
ed the proposal in principle and the /
American delegates have indicated
a willingness to discuss details.
Message Garbled.
A message from Toxic was re-
Iceived by the japanese delegation |
hut imperfect cable transmission
was said to have rendered 1t i'm
possible OF definite Interpretation. |
Press dispatches from Toxic to-
night saying a conditional accept
ance had been decided on caused
no surprise here.
The press dispatches indicated .
that the japanese want an agree
ment on the naval ratio and further
application of the American -four
points" to China before they abb
rogate the Anglo-Japanese alliance
which the four power arrangement
is designed to replace.
France May Accept.
Rene Viviani, of France, has
to his government
that it accept a place in the new
arrangement. Favorable response
is expected soon.
Meantime some of the Italian
delegates have suggested unoffici- /,
ally that the Pacific agreement
might be strengthened by the add.
ton of Italy, but the position of
the delegation as a whole is said to
be one of satisfaction with the
four-powcr arrangement.
Is Moving Rapidly.
So rapidly is the conference
moving that many delegates are
hoping to get most of the impor-
tant questions out of the way be-
fore the end of the year. The tBrit- !
ish have made tentative steamship
reservations for December 81, ana
January and some of the French
have definite plans for leaving
sooner.
Much of the work of detail how
ever, is to be left in the hands OF
commissions of experts. These
commissions arc expected to con-
tinue study of such subjects as
methods of scrapping the ships TO
be disposed of under the naval re-
duction plan, the revision of the
rules of warfare and certain sub
jects relating to China.
1t Is the general opinion. how
ever, that all the principal prob
lens like naval ratio, the Pacific
Notifications and the four-powet
agreement must be disposed of be-
fore the pleniDotentiaries depart.
A general settlement of these ma
jor subjects is expected to be in
cluded in one understanding
among the delegates and translated s
later into several separate treaties
and agreements.
Problem Not Difficult.
Although regarded by both the I
and the Americans as an o
element in the general !.
scheme of the negotiations, the =
problem of Notifications and ma l.
val bases in the Pacific does not
promise to be difficult Of solution,
BY starting from the premise that !,
there is to be no scrapping of Is .
land defenses erected, the dele
gates believe they have found a v
simple basis of agreement on the r
of maintaining existing =
conditions. II IS considered proba- :
BILE that Hawaii as in the four
power treaty, will be exempt from -
any provisions of the Notifications i
agreement which apply to certain :
other Pacific islands. The Ameri.
can delegation IL said to regard ;,
The Hawaiian group as part of the :.
mainland.
BY working from the principle -
Of the status quo the delegates T.
have adopted for the Notifications
negotiations the same principle y
hat has guided them in broad K
sense in the conversations of both q
he naval ratio and the Far East. q
Itnly's Suggestion. I,
The Italian suggestion that 1t be n
llso included in the proposed n
agreement for a cooling Off de- n
ay before hostilities in the Pacific, y,
vas said to be based on the belief In
hat the arrangement would be r,
strengthened If all the first class G.
powers are participants. a
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am MEAN