The New York herald., 1921-12-31
HARDING PLEASED
Completion of Sea Pro
gram Hastened in
Two Meetings Of
Powers Delegates
HOLIDAY PLAN Is UP
French Replacement Re-
quest Referred to Com
mittee OF Experts.
ROOT RULES CONSIDERED
Public Session of Conference
May Be Held Wednesday
or Thursday.
ROOT RULES CONSIDERED
BY LOUIS sEIBoLD.

BY LOUIS SEIBOLD.
Special Dispatch TO THE New YonK HEaAtB-
New York Herald Bureau.
Washington, ID. c., Dec. 20.
Qualifying their optimism concern.
ing the outcome of pending and fu-
ture undertakings with a natural
reservation as to future French view
points the officials and delegates of
the American Government expressed
great satisfaction over the conference
progress made to-day,
Barring the outcropping of the
tense feeling between the French and
British representatives developments
in the two meetings of the delegates
OF the United States, Great Britain,
France, Italy and Japan engaged in
completing the naval program were
regarded as so satisfactory as to jus.
tify more confidence as to ultimate
results than has been the case for a
week.
The actual progress made toward
limitation of auxiliary naval craft
justified an announcement at the
White House that exercised stimu.
lating influence on the conferences
generally. This announcement was
substantially that, while limitation
OF submarine armaments will have
to go over to some future conference.
IL was not regarded as seriously i'm
pairing the conference.
Official Feeling Analysed.
1t would be wholly untruthful to
cay there is no disappointment at
the failure to agree on the submarine
question. The feeling in official
circles is that If nothing more than
is already assured is accomplished
in the way of providing world re-
forms the conference, in some future
day of calm retrospection, will be
regarded as a significant success.
This opinion was expressed follow.
ing a two hour conference between
the President and Secretary Hughes,
at which the latter presented a re-
view and analysis of every important
development.
At his conference with the news
paper reporters later in the day the
President paid a high tribute to the
Secretary. whom he described as the
first member of the Cabinet" In
doing so the President made indirect
reference to a published statement
that Secretary Hughes was very
much dissatisfied with the support
given to him by the Administration
and was about to resign. The Presi-
dent disposed of it by saying:
you can say for the President that
such statement Is silly. and you can
use capital letters in saying So"
He assured the reporters that the
vanity, false pride and selfishness"
that usually lead to Cabinet resigna-
tions do not exist in the Harding
Cabinet. He supplemented this with
the statement that the relations be-
tween himself and Secretary Hughes
we're not only personally cordial btz
we're characterized by complete uH
derstanding and approval on the part
of the President. Z
Naval structure Almost Ready.
The American delegates announced
to-nix1t that with the exception NJ
minor details--barring OF course. fur
ther opposition from French sources
the general naval structure Is ap-
preaching completion. II there arc no
unexpected complications II will be
finally rounded out when the general
naval committee meets on Tuesday
next.
II the confidence of the American
delegates Is realized q public session
of tho conference win be convened on
Wednesday or Thursday. Meantime
the delegates Of France. Italy aud
Japan win await final instructions re-
gardlng specific commitments on the
auxiliary naval program against which
they did not present any protest to-
day.
Tho naval committee completed its
discussion OF the second and third
clauses OF the Root resolution defining
the rules 10 govern operation OF SUBJ
marines The first clause. which re-
affirmed existing regulations. was ac-
cepted yesterday. The second clause
proposes that all the civilized nations
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HOTEL IMPERIAL. B'wAy at ss>D sC