The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-12-15
Proposal Re-
garding Naval Ratio In
dicates Final Settle
ment Is Not Yet Agreed
Upon - Minor Ques-
tions Being Raised By
Several Parties
SOYietS Protest

sOciated Press. .)-AdviceS from Riga
that Soviet Russia has protested the
disposition of the Chinese Eastern
Railway by the Washington confer
ence, has served to draw the atten-
ton of conference circles to the
rather complicated nature of this sub
ject which occupies place on the
American agenda.
The Chinese Eastern, as it is colo
quially referred to in the Far East, is
Of the greatest stragetic and economic
Importance to Russia Japan and
China. 1t is the great connecting link
across China of the trans-Siberian
railway from Vladivostock to far off
Moscow and Petrograd. 1t crosses
the Chinese province of Manchuria,
which penetrates like peninsula into
the heart of Siberia. When the czar
OF all the Russias decided on his big
project OF building the trans-Siberian,
he obtained the right from China to
run the road across northern Man
churia from Progranichya on the
east to Manchuli or Manchuria, sta
ton on the west. taking in on the way
the big city of Harbin. This right
gave the Russian railroad immense
value which it would not have pos
sessed, had it been built entirely on
Russian territory
Legally speaking. the railroad is re-
garded as belonging to Russia. bur
both the United States and Japan are
said to have made financial outlays
for the up-keep of the line, the guard
ing of which is entrusted to Chinese
because it traverse Chinene territory.
The directors include both Chinese
and Russians.
1t is the future status Of the Chi
nose that the conference may be
called upon to discus5.
Alternate Proposals
Washington. Dec. 15.--(By the AS
sociated Press )-Alternate proposals
relating to the 5-5-3 ratio as worked
out, apparently over night by naval
experts were presented today to Sec
retary Hughes. Mr., Balfour. and
Baron Kato, which indicated. accord
ing to delegation spokesman, that no
formal agreement had been reached
by the big three.
Washington, Dec. 15.-(By the AS
sociated Press. with formal an
nouncement of a complete agreement
between Great Britain. the United
States and Japan on basis for the
latters acceptance of the "5-5-3" nav
al ratio awaiting an adjustment of
technical details alone, the focal
point of the arms conference negotia
tions appeared to be shifting more
and more today to the Far Eastern
discussions. No sessions were sched-
uled today for the Far Eastern com
mittee which adjourned yesterday
subject to the call of Chairman
Hughes, after China had requested
that the treaties resulting from the
famous twenty-one demands be abro-
gated and consideration of the ques-
tion had been promptly objected to
by the Japanese delegates.
How the conference will steer it's
course on this new element of con-
troversy in the Far Eastern negotia-
tions is the subject of serious delib-
GRAFTON by the other delegates today,
as they prepared for decision, prob
ably at the next meeting as to wheth-
er the subject can properly be taken
up under the conference agenda. In
the view of the Chinese representa-.
tives, however, the subject actually is
before the conference now and must
be disposed of one way or another
The conference also faced an addi-
tional complication in the Far East
ern negotiations today as result OF
China's request that it take definite
steps to abolish all claims to special
spheres of influence" which have
grown out of the several treaties with
China.
Japan's request for retention of the
battleship Mutseu in substitution for
an older ship as a basis for her com.
plete acceptance of the naval plan
having been definitely agreed to by
Great Britain and the United States
with provision for equivalent conces
sions to those powers. official an
nouncement of the accord was held
back today solely by technical details
yet to be decided ON the British eQui
valent.
The United States, under the ar
rangemept. which in no way departs
from the "5-5-3" ratio basis OF the
Hughes proposal, retains the battle
ships Coloraac ana Washington ii
place Of the uelawaye and North na
kota. II also has been definitely set
tied that the naval agreement VII
embrace status quo undergtandinl
z as to naval hasea In the Paeide.
Beside the difscnll nitnAtien n tht
s "a