Evening star., 1921-08-15
Desired to Broaden Anglo.
Japanese Treaty Before
Disarmament Parley.
ADMINISTRATION AGAINST
MILITARY OBLIGATIONS
British Still Hope Despite 'Squelch.
ing" of Suggested Prelimi-
nary Conference.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


Great Britain would like to broaden
the Anglo-Japanese alliance so that
in it's place would be a treaty between
the United States, Great Britain and
Japan.
Indications of the British desire
have reached here in purely infor-
NAL way. and throw an interesting
light on the motives and hopes Of
the powers that will be assembled at
the Washington conference.
The United States government has
not been asked to become party to
the Anglo-Japanese alliance-nothing
so formal as that has been suggested,
the Japanese press as early as last
June began discussing just such
plan. The American government Is
aware of the British attitude. as re-
fiected in the statement made to the
Dominion premiers. and it is consid-
cred the better part of wisdom here
to make no comment. direct or in
direct. upon the vicissitudes of British
diplomacy.
Yet the big facts are coming out
slowly to show why the Washington
conference was summoned and what
were the controlling influences in the
conversations which preceded the de-
cision to call the nations together, not
merely on disarmament but on far
eastern questions.
The most significant statement from
the British, thus far, which has not
failed to be noticed here. is the fol-
lowing sentence in the summary of
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conference of dominion premiers:
In accordance with the suggestion
which was believed to have been made
by the American government that the
conference on disarmament should be
preceded by friendly conversations or
consultations between the powers
principally concerned in the future
of the far east and the Pacific, the
imperial conference, anxious that for
the Angfo-Japanese agreement stheFe
should be substituted some larger ar
rangement between the three great
States. Japan and Great Britain
discussed these preliminary
conversations or consultations which
the American government had in
principle agreed should be held in
London
America Disapproved Farley.
The British official account indicates
that owing to a misunderstanding as
Ito the nature of the suggested pre-
liminary conversations" the British
government. including Prime Minister
Lloyd George and the dominion pre-
miers, were prepared to attend a
meeting in Washington instead of
London. and Japan "signified her will
ingness to attend" But the British
official summary goes step further
and remarks that "the American gov
ernment, however. did not favor the
idea, which was accordingly dropped"
In other words, back of the sugges-
tion of preliminary conference at
Washington to precede the larger
conference in November was a hope
that the United States would somehow
announce her adherence to an en-
larged Anglo-Japanese agreement to
be a three-cornered sort of offensive
and defensive alliance. The British
government saw. in such a pact, a
way to appease the dominion premiers
and at the same time heal possible
friction between the United States
and Japan But the American gov
a preliminary conference without even
permitting the subject of an enlarged
Anglo-Japanese alliance to come up
for formal consideration.
So far as the records show. indeed.
there isn't anything formal in the ex-
the United States and British govern
ment to indicate that Great Britain
asked our views. Nevertheless. in a
purely personal way. such information
as the British may have sought to de-
termine our attitude was given.
America is absolutely opposed to dual
alliances or three-cornered treaties of
any kind involving such obligations as
are contained in the Anglo-Japanese
agreement. To be sure. the Harding
administration has placed itself on rec
ord as opposed to any arrangement. even
though it include all the powers of the
world, such as the league covenant
proposed whereby obligations of a
military character are directly or in
directly implied or expressed. Feeling
that way about the league of nations.
any proposal for a three-cornered
treaty would meet the same fate.
The British have not yet learned
the depth of feeling in the Harding
administration on that phase of in
ternational affairs, as only a few
days ago the Associated Press dis
patches referred again to the hope of
British officials that America would
help in the negotiation of pact that
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