Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-12-22
BRITISH WANT OPEN
SESSION ON U-BOATS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ueased Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1929

BY DAVID LAWRENCE
(Leased Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1929
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.--Great
Britain is making a desperate effort
to take the conference out Of the
meshes of private conversation and
secret debates and force the discus
sion into the open, in the hope of
lining up the moral forces of the
world behind her demand that the
submarine be abolished.
The tactics of the British, in press
ing for a plenary session at which
the whole question of submarine
uses might be discussed by Arthur
Balfour and Lord Lee with the en-
tire press present, is sequel to an
other and much more significant in
cident in connection with the French
proposal to build ten battleships.
The French have complained to
members of the American and other
delegations of the press campaign
conducted by the British against
them in the last few days. They in
5ist that the British broke, faith in
permitting the public to know what
the French battleShip proposals were
and that it has been agreed that this
would be kept secret as between Mr..
Hughes, Mr.. Balfour and the other
members of the naval committee of
the powers in conference here.
The question of whether the Brit
ism did or did not break faith hinges
largely upon whether Lord Riddell is
an official representative of Great
Britain at this conference or simply
a private citizen engaged in newspa-
yn1,ly n "
weeks Lord Riddell has received the
newspaper correspondents not only
Of England but the United States and
other countries, and has discussed
with the utmost abandon all the
matters up before the conference. He
has outlined the British viewpoint,
the French, the American, Chinese
and Japanese contentious, with all
the air of authority that an official
spokesman need have to impress his
audience.
Georges Colonel House."
The information given out by
Lord Riddell has been, for the most
part, authentic. So far as British
news is concerned, it has conceded
with the moves of the delegation.
In any event, what Lord Riddell
has said in his conferences with
newspaper men twice a day has been
telegraphed to all parts of the Unit
ed States by the press associations
and cabled to the four corners OF
the world. He has been the most
communicative man at the Washing
ton conference, a source OF lnror-
nation on everything.
Now Lord Riddell in response to
the French attack on him and the
British for leaking about the
French proposals has declared that
he never was in any sense official
but that he came here solely as the
of the British news
paper proprietors' association and
that his primary purpose was to as
sist British journalists in getting
news from the British delegation.
While performing this task he was
quite willing, indeed anxious. to
have American correspondents at
tend and take whatever news ne was
giving out. He didn't say he was
an official spokesman. NeVerthe-
less, it is a fact that Lord Riddell
did the same kind of a thing at the
Versailles conference and has pre-
scented the British viewpoint after
the meeting of the supreme council
of Prime Minister lloyd George and
is said to have been making private
reports by cable to the prime minis
ter separate and distinct from the
reports sent by Mr.. Balfour and the
officials of the British delegation. He
is sort Of Colonel House for Mr..
LLOYD George. He now claims his
status is simply that of a publisher.
Lord Riddell departs tomorrow for
England and when he goes there
will be a sigh of relief, not from the
correspondents who have obtained
so much information from him, but
from the members of the various
delegations who have felt ill at ease
over his anomalous position.
There is no objection to publicity
representatives Or propaganda agen-
cies at this conference. Most of
the powers seem to have them-the
Japanese, Chinese and the rest. But
even these publicity agents are linn
tied in what they can say in behalf
of their respective delegations. Lord
Riddell observed no such limits and
on one occasion read from a pre-
pared document what appeared to
be the British viewpoint on the
French proposals presented in Sc
cret session.
The truth is that the delegates,
with the exception of the French,
are pleased that the proposals leak
ed out, for world opinion has prompt"
ly caused the French to modify
their viewpoint. Now the British,
! seeing the advantage which more or
less open diplomacy has given them,
are planning to press their advan-
| tage still further by an open session
| of the conference. Relying upon
| the sentiment Of the American peo-
pie as we'll as the prejudice which ex-
| lists generally against the submarine
because of the way the Germans
| used the weapon in the last war.
| the British will make an attempt
| to meet the French demand for a
| certain number of submarines by in
sisting that all submarines be abol-
| ished.
The American delegation favors
| the retention of some submarines.
An active propaganda by ship build
| ing interests has been carried on
both in France and the United
States in favor of submarine build
ing. The British believe they can,
| however, marshal American opinion
| behind their own public sentiment
against the submarine and secure
it's abolition. The significant thing
is that when the conference gets
into a deadlock through the secret
| sessiong the recourse of all the dele
cations is to open sessions and the
| press,