The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-13
LAND FORCE
CUT UNLIKELY
FOR EUROPE
France Thinks Standing Army
Only Protection-Forces of
Asia Are Menace to Other
Nations.
HARDING is TRUSTED
BY MARK SULLIVAN


one aspect of President Harding's
conference there is universal and un-
qualified approval That is the choice
in Washington as the place to hold
il.
Much of the suspicion which turned
large part Of America away from the
results of the peace conference was
due 70 the secrecy of the sessions, to;
the distance from America, and tol
the feeling that our diplomats in
Europe were in the position of a
countryman come to town.
conference held here in Wash
ington, in the plain sight of the Amer
lean people, and reported in accord
ance with the customs of the Amer
ican newspapers, will do much TO re-
new Americans willingness TO join
with the nations OF the world for pur-
poses we believe in.
Opinions Conflict.
There are two schools of thought
in Washington about President Hard
ing's invitation to conference for
limitation of armaments. One of
these schools wanted the conference
TO be restricted to naval disarmament
only, and only wanted the nations
conferring to be limited to Great Brit
ain, Japan and the United States.
The other school wanted to include
disarmament on land, as we'll as on
sea. and wanted the invitation to in
clude those nations like France and
Italy, who are mainly concerned with
large armies and not so much con-
cerned with large navies.
AS everybody knows, it was the
latter school that prevailed with
President Harding, although the
school that wanted a restriction to
naval disarmament only was decided
ly the larger and more powerful here
in Washington. At the same it is
universally recognized that this sub
ject is wholly within the executive
functions and that President Harding
is entitled to go about it in his own
way without conference.
Has Larger Policy
1t is also recognized that the pres
ent move is part of a larger policy in
Harding's mind. 1t probably will be
safe to conclude that among other
reasons for President Harding's choice
of the course he took is the fact that,
with characteristic courtesy. he felt
impelled to take into account the
wishes of some of the other nations
This movement started with Senator
Borah, and Senator Borah was firm in
restricting ii to naval disarmament
and to Great Britain, Japan and the
United States In a long series OF
conflicts Senator Borah's idea won
every time. 1t passed the senate by a
vote of IA to 0. Then when the lower
house proposed as an alternative to
the Borah resolution the plan which
Harding has now adopted, this plan
was defeated, and Senator Borah's s
resolution was ultimately adopted in
the house with only four dissenting
votes.
Brings New Factors
There were just three nations en-
gagged in increasing naval ornaments
and an agreement on the part of those
three nations would have settled that
question The inclusion of land dis
armament brings in several other fac
tors 1t brings in France, and France
does not want to abolish her military
system That system is ingrained in
the minds of the French people and
of the French government. In giving
reasons for opposition to land disarma-
ment they have said among other
things that it would destroy the NOR
ale of the French people.
France thinks that a standing army
with universal military service is her
only protection. When this confer
ence comes, France may take this
position, and will say that the only
terms upon which she could safely dis
arm would be a formal agreement
upon the part of all the other nations
to come to her help in time of need
Land Cut Unlikely
However. land disarmament in Eu
rope is much less reasonable to urge
just now than naval disarmament:
The rnoslem countries of Asia are as
gressive, and the countries OF Europe
can reasonably say that il is not safe
for them to reduce their armies great
ly so long as there is a possibility oi
menace by land from Asia.
Furthermore military men say that
in the presen. state of Russia 1t Is
ALWAYS possible for some figure like
Napoleon 10 arise and make Russia
into a military power such that the
other nations of Europe would neet
large armies for defence. One reasol
why limiting the invitation to nava
disarmament was preferred in Wash
ington lies in the fact that much o.
the impulse Of this movement ha:
come from former irreconcilables, Gk'
Senator Borah And they take th'
position that while naval disarmament
Of the part of other nations is mat
ter OF reasonable concern to us, lant
disarmament on the part of thes'
other nations is none of our business
They say that barring remote econ
omic aspects. il is no concern of our
how large an army is maintained b.
any country in Europe. From thi
they reason that an invitation whiei
includes disarmament on land is tn
sort of entanglement with foreign al
fairs which they objected to in tn
League of Nations
All this, however. has now becom
largely academic. President Harding
action has given him so much priv
lege and has given his foreign polio,
so much momentum that ii can oni
be impaired by some conspicuous faiI
ure in actual achievement on the par
OF his conference. And the presen
ct al Of hi Al Ga