Evening star., 1921-06-13
Editorial Digest
Who's Blocking Disarmament?

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The sentiment for immediate steps
| toward naval disarmament has been
| growing in the last few months. If we
| may judge from the increasingly en-
phatic discussion in the newspapers,
| and the latest move of the House OF
Representatives. eliminating in the
Porter resolution to broaden the Borah
plan and include a proposal for land
and water disarmament, is looked upon
by many writer's as an attempt to block
tne Wnole procedure. Those news
papers which defend the House atti-
| tude. for the most part, do so on the
hypothesis that it preserves the presl-
Dental initiative and leaves Mr.. Hard
| ing "a free hand" This line Of argu-
| ment, the Brooklyn Eagle independent
sense"
support for the original plan. calling
Tor conference with Japan and Great
Br1tain on the specific subject of agree
| Ing to limit of warship building. finds
! support from republican as we'll as
democratic papers. mo better meth
cd of destroying all hope of a definite
| working out of a disarmament pro-
gram could have been devised" says
| the Chicago Tribune independent re-
publfcan) than that by altering the Sem
ate amendment by making it apply to
| all armaments of all nations" thus
scorning the single step toward world
peace" and seeking with one wild leap
10 attain the millennium"
IN a similar strain. the Chicago News
| independently remarks that opponents
OF an practical plans for Limitation of
ornaments will rejoice in the ill-ad-
vised enorts of members of the Ma
| ticnal House of Representatives to
broaden the Borah resolution" which,
the New York Mail Gndependent)
points out. provides for a conference
Whlch could not fail'' at any point
where the larger group could succeed
| lndeed. the House." says the Grand
| RAPIDS Press independently, by propos-
ing extension of Senator Borah's naval
nohoay plan goes on record as oppos-
ing any present steps toward disarma-
ment' and IN thus blocking the pro-
gram, the Binghamton IN. W Sun
| independent democratic) believes that
the House leaders are defying public
sentiment throughout the nation" for
the people demand action. not words, i"
from the administration. To the Syra-
SIsS c1oal. herald ,e1r undependent) the move
Many writer's feel that the House ac-
tlon is justly described in the phrase
USED by the New York Globe (inde-
pendent). side-tracking disarmament. !"
and the Richmond News Leader Gnde-
penuehe !einn democratlcl declares that
elaboration' Ia of the Senate amendment
VIII kill the whole proposition" The
| Lynchburs Wa.) News (democratic)
neads its editorial on the subject
burked 1t offers it's own explana-
rOh bnt cnnthe OF she politics behind this action.
Is not ended yet"
| me New York World (democratic) }
accuses MI. Harding personally OF
| uouilns the issue, adding that
the the only reasonable Inference is
tst rnat Mr: Harding does not wish to
ment and being afraid to oppose it
openly he has adopted the indirect
method of creating deadlock be-
tween the House and the Senate.
MOI al writer's. however. who favor
the Borah resolution look upon it as
defeated. The Buffalo News (repubii-
cam feels that the difference be-
| tween the two resolutions is not in
surmountable" and believes that the
President can be trusted to choose
ing the plan. This difference to
which the News refers is one point
which many opponents of the Borah
resolution cling to. 1t is Important
IN the eyes OF the Cincinnati Com
merGlal Tribune (republican) and
in its reading that which he is in
fact; and by right ought to be, the
head and front of the movement,
The New York Tribune (repubIican)
urges the necessity of leaving the ex.
ecutive "a free hand" stating thai
Congress may merely record its
opinions and offer its cooperation.
The Mobile Register (democratic) con
ours in this belief and adds that:
The President doesn't intend to
quarrel with anybody, but he doe.
mean to keep the executive function
unincumbered with senatorial en-
tanglements"
The Brooklyn Eagle (independen,
democratic) says the excuse given fol
the House substitute. that the Borah
resolution usurps the initiative OF
the President and practically or.
ders him to call an international con.
terence, Is sheer nonsense" for 1.-THE
Senate did nothing more than Sen.
ates are accustomed to do"
This, however. is not the only OBJ.
lection raised against the original
disarmament plan. The Wheeling In.
telligencer (republican) thinks that
limiting the agreements to three ma.
tions only leaves loopholes thai
might easily be fatal" because the
great powers could build ships "os.
tensibly for the smaller powers" but
held in their own docks, while small.
er powers could build 'ostensibIy TO,
themselves'' but in reality for the
lgreat power Which controlled them
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