Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1921-01-04
MILITARY PREPARATIONS.


year will be largely cut down Re-
peated dispatches from Marion
Chic, represent President Harding
as favoring such policy, and there
is much congressional comment TO
the same effect in Washington.
These signs of the future are re-
gardcd by this page with satisfac-
ton. Notwithstanding the refusal OF
the congress of the United States
To co-operate with the forty-one ma
tons Of Europe who are seeking
. through the League OF Nations 70
secure the disarmament OF the world
we hope that this country may by
independent action aid in securing
that result.
Senator Borah of Idaho, has intro
duced a resolution in the senate re-
ouesting the president to take dipio-
matte action to secure an agreement
between Great Britain, Japan and the
United States to cut their naval
building programs by fifty per cent
in the coming years. It IS SAID 20
meet with favor from Democrats as
well as Republicans. Great Britain
has no naval building plans at pres
emit. and is not building single CAPT
tai ship this year we are informed
by the London Times, but that does
not mean that Great Britain has
abandoned the race for naval suprem-
acy, but only that she has not yet
made up her mind whether capital
ships or dreadnaughts are the best
form of naval offense and defense
these days, and has an idea that sub
marine and aerial development has
made them obsolete as the main lac
tors in naval power. Japan, on the
contrary, is building as fast as she
can new dreadnaughts. At that, she
is considerably behind the United
States. A treaty which contemplated
fifty per cent reduction in naval
81 Idk 40 Ahld1S ohAAaAAte,
is concerned would have to take into
account that Great Britain is just
now standing still, but has no thought
Of letting slip her present supremacy
as the strongest naval power.
Senator Walsh of Montana, has
also resolution before the senate
which asks the president to appoint
member Of the disarmament COM
mittee of the League of Nation
which has been given the task of try
ing to bring about disarmament, both
naval and military, in all the world.
That would be more efficient and
natural way of accomplishing the
result, but it is not likely to find.
favor with the Republicans because
it involves in q way recognition OF
the League Of Nations and co-operat-
ing with this much hated and dispised
effort to secure and maintain the
peace of the world by out-lawing
wars in the future.
Still we have good cause to be
hopeful that progress in world dis
armament will be made by mutual
agreement of some kind among the
nations. There is one powerful in
fluence that is constantly working
to that end outside of any interna-
tional peace efforts. That lies in the
fact that war preparations cost so
much and that the nations Of the
world are SO nearly broke by the
costs of the late world war that they
cannot afford to pay for future war
preparations. This consideration
presses with particular weight on
Japan, the third of the great naval
powers of the world just now, but
it is no slight factor in Great Bri-
tain and even the United States, in
the consideration of this question.
AS we have heretofore noted there
is a strong disposition in congress to
cut down the size and cost of both
our army and navy program for the
coming year, and if this is done it
will be Of considerable aid to the
League Of Nations in their task of
securing disarmament in Japan,
which has in recent years been led
to fear that we cherish unfriendly
feelings toward her. The Japanese
people, if we are to judge from the
utterances of its influential news
papers, would rather welcome an
agreement on our part to stop build
ing more Of these monster dread
naught ships that cost thirty or
thirty-five million dollars apiece, on
condition that Japan also abandoned
that expensive investment in future
war preparation. The NewYork
World thus comments on the situa-
ton with reference to Japan. 1t
says:
"Tapau is not, and should not be.