Norwich bulletin., 1921-11-09
Harding Receives
 Foreign Delegates
Official Washington is Con- centrating on Arrangements For Armament Conference

washington, Nov. S.-(By The A. P) Ihe hnal interim of stage-dressing for the armament conference was ushered in today by developments which for the first tune concentrated on the great diplo- natlc drama the alert attention of nrac- tically every element of official Wash. lngton and It's distinguished guests,
 Even the senate took a hand in tba last minute preparations by adopting With the secit acquieseence of republican n leaders ' resolution presented from the oemocratic side of the chamber reo,est- ing that the doors of the conference room be opened whenever the full body Of delegates were in session and that 4 record be kept of everything that trans pired duA1g the meetings
 Among those who will actually sit at the conference table Admiral Baron Ka- to, head of the Jseanese delegation and naval minister of the Japanese govern ment, made himself the center of att tent1on by public statement asserting that his nation was willing, in the in- terests of a successful conference, to go the length of reducslg her "eight-eight" naval building programme if a satisfac- tory proportional agreement could be , reached.
 Meantime Premier Briand of France conf1ning his public expressions to a gen. eral renewal of his nations willingness to meet everybody else half way in the | effort to reduce ornaments, paid a round | Of official calls and familiarized himself with the situation ir conference with his | colleagues and officials of the French | embassy. During the day he re- ceived formerly, by President Harding | and the two exchanged good wishes for | the success of the conference.
 | of tl,o lands delegation also were given form al audience late in the afternoon by the president, who had spent much of the | day at work on the address with which
 he will open the conference on Saturday. | Tonight the manuscript was virtually completed and MT. Harding let 1t be | known that 1t reflected his proposed
 course of conduct throughout the nego-
 tiatons by dealing only in a broad way
 with the problems of the conference and
 leaving the specific presentation of the American proposals to the American del
 tgates themselves.
 That these proposals have been com. pleted So far as is possible for the pres
 ent was indicated by the waiting atti- tude of the delegation, which held nc
 meeting today but marked time pend ing the assembling here tomorrow of the
 advisory committee of twenty-one select
 ed by President Harding.
 There were indica tions tonight tha physical arrangements for organization
 of the conference were quite as far ad vanced as tfa preparation of the govern
 ment's policies. Secretary Hughes, a
 head of the American delegation, is ex pected to become at least the ternporar! presiding officer of the full. assemblag g
 of delegates and such he will presen .l,1 fnT-o fA1l
 tative plan of procedure.
 Diplomatic usfge may result in MT
 Hughes retaining the gavel and also il
 the selection of an American as secre
 tary general Upon this subject admin istration officials have refused to talk
 but it is understood they have reviewe : all the possibilities of the situation an have seriously considered as their choic
 for secretary general John w. Graaet : of Baltimore, a former minister to severa European and South American countrie: who recently was recalled to the servic } and now is on the staff of the state de ? partment His last previous diplomat post was Vlinister 1p iHdland. iron
 which he resigned in 1919.
 Upon every hand there appeared today growing belief that the details of orgar ization and preliminary negotiation wi
 be completed quickly and that when tn
 conference is but a Iew days old 1t wi
 find itself in the midst of its most ser
 ous work. So impressed are America officials with. the prospect that they IT
 fected a view today that something det X mite would be accomplished hefoi l Christmas.