Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1921-09-14
N 5
LET TER
tBy Walter W. Liggett)

y c.oAAu6tOu 5D.r:+C - Sept 11-OHl-
c1a washington is preparing for the
.dlsarmament conference" in much
the same, spirit, that a small North.
western town gets ready for the coun:
~ fair. Government buildings are be
1ng refurnished,a the hotels are re.
decorating, authorities are cleaning
upsthe* city, society women are order.
ing new gowns and last, but by no
means least, members Of the diplo.
matte; corps are laying in an extra
supply of"wet goods" From social
standpoint it promises to be a grand
success, s.. ~ IN: ~ .~,.>
= From the standpoint; of a disarnaa.
ment conference, however. it must be
confessed that there has been consid.
cradle cooling Of the original enthu-
siasn which greeted the proposal: A
number of things have dampened> the
ardor Of those who thought the inter:
national meet would be long step
toward ending war forever. Some
cynics now avow chat the conference
is more likely to; have the opposite
effect. -.
The first blow came when the con-
ference was not confined to the dis
cussi0n Of disarmament. That would
have forced show down on this is
sue. Instead, a number of puzzling
questions involving Asiatic diplomatic
questions have been injected and dis
armament itself is likely to be side
tracked
Equally great was the disappoint-
ment over the selection of Senator
Lodge as member of the American de-
legation. Lodge has been lingo and
Immediately after his appointment he
announced we already had reduced
our navy below the danger line" It
is not likely that ornaments will be
limited if other delegates share his
views, President Harding also voiced
similar views in his recent speech to
the War College.
The most discouraging feature is
the refusal of the Administration to
insist upon open proceedings. There
would have been reason for real hope
had this been agreed to. There is
strong sentiment for drastic disarm-
ament and had the sessions been open
public opinion might have forced &C.
ton. But the President and Lodge
decided against open meetings. and
this will make it comparatively easy
for the diplomats to 'put something
over"
Expect Angio-Americar Treaty
No one here on the inside of things
expects to see any real limitation of
ornaments result from the; confer
ence. What they do expect to see is
a secret treaty between the United
States and Great Britain that will
bind these powers together in an Of
fensive and defensive alliance.
Such treaty has been the goal Of
British diplomacy for 80 years and
apparently the millions of dollars
spent in propaganda is about to bear
fruit The secret treaty is desired by
great financiers like the Morgans and
Rothschilds who have international
investments and want the combined
backing of these great powers for
their exploitation of subject races
The treaty probably will divide the
world roughly into spheres of lntlu-
ence" and each nation will be given
free rein in certain sections with OBJ
legations to back up the other in case
of aggression by other nations. This
policy is fraught with danger. Other
nations are bound to resent attempts
to monopolize the worlds natural re-
sources and in time France, Germany,
Russia, Italy, Spain and other powers
will form new alliances to Offset the
Anglo-American combination. 1t was
scheming of this sort that caused the
World War and another war will be
the inevitable result if this country
backs Great Britain in any such i'm
perialistic enterprise.
Schemes of this sort are always
Matched behind closed doors and the
best hope of preventing such con-
summation of the disarmament con-
ference" lies in the people insisting
upon the fullest possible publicity.
There is no reason why the people
should not know what their elective
servants are doing and "open coven-
ants openly arrived at" should be the
only policy tolerated.
Railroad Loan Storm Center
The $500,000,000 loan to the rail-
roads which passed the House just
before the recess, promises to be the
storm center in the Senate when Con-
gress reconvenes. That Administra-
ton has determined that this bill
shall be passed at once, and a little
group of Republican progressives
headed by LaFollette, Morris, Ladd
and others are equally determined to
block it if possible.