Evening star., 1921-12-25
England's Plan
for Abolition
Failure.
ITALIANS AGREE
TO COMPROMISE
Fight Promised as
French Prepare to
Demand Increase.
BY q. GOULD LINCOLN.

The United States has again struck
a heavy blow for the reduction of
Laval armament.
Secretary Hughes. abandoning the
original American proposal for sub
marine tonnage, which would have
given the United States and Great
Eritaiu each 10000 tons of the under
Sell craft. and japan $4,000. yester-
day proposed to the committee or
limitation of ornaments of the Wash
in@ton conference that:
Tn" submarine tonnage of the
United States and Great Britain be
Ca."GG tons and. that the tonnage OF
Japan. France and Italy remain prac-
t:cally what it is today. Secretary
f!rglresi gave the present tonnage OF
Japan as 31.452: France. 1891, and
I-aly somewhat less than 21.000 tons
I. =. should Scrap I5.OOO Tons.
This would mean drastic cut
Tie srrapping of thousands of tons
%: American and British submarines.
The United States would reduce its
submarines by some $4,000 tons (when
the total of the built and building
is. considered and Great Britain
would give up approximately 22.464
tons. her present submarine tonnage
being S2.i64.
The submarine proposal of the
United States gives to the world a
clear idea of the consistency and
earnestness of the plea of this coun-
try for real reduction in naval
armament. 4
Secretary Hughes proposal was
made at a time when Great Britain s
suggestion that the submarine be
utterly wiped out had been rejected
by at least three of the powers at
tending the conference, and when
France was understood to be about
to propose a very great increase in
her own submarine tonnage. Like the
original proposal of the United States
with regard to capital ships, the pro-
posal of Secretary Hughes with re-
gard to submarines is clear-cut ano
generous.
In Accord with Britain.
Great Britain. it was stated on high
authority last night. has ranged her
self on the side of the United States
in this matter of the reduction o1
submarine tonnage.
Italy also accepts the proposal. but
with a reservation that her sub
marine tonnage be made equal to that
of France, on the ground that she
must equal in naval strength any
other Mediterranean power
Senator Schanzer, head of the Italian
delegation, replying to the Hughes
proposal, said in part:
although our naval technical au-
thorlties believe that the allotment
of submarine tonnage should not nee
essarily be proportionate to that of
capital ships, and that the quota of
31,5oO tons for submarines, corre-
spending to the American proposal of
a tonnage of 175.000 in capital ships,
is not sufficient. the italian delegation
is ready, in the interest of reduction
of ornaments, to accept this amount.
under the condition of parity with
France"
Japan Makes Demand.
japan, on the other hand. has come
forward with a demand that she be
given the $4,000 tons of submarines
which she was accorded in the orig
inal American proposal, announced
by Secretary Hughes for the three
great naval powers on the opening
oay of the conference.
Japan insists that $4,000 tons is
the minimum which she can accept;
that she is willing to adhere to the
original 5-5-3 ratio for both capital
ships and auxiliary tonnage-in other
words, that she will accept the pro-
posal that the United States shall
have 10000 tons of submarines, the
British 10000. and the Japanese 54,-
600 tons. But Japan has not indi-
Gated, up to last night, that she would
accept the proposed reduction Of the
limited States and Great Britain to
GO. 900 tons, with a proportionate re-
duction for Japan.
France, from which the only sug-
eestion regarding submarines so far
has come in a speech before the
committee on Friday by Admiral de
Bon, who said that $4,000 tons was
the minimum that a naval power
could be expected to agree to, has de-
clared that she must await instruc-
tions from Paris.
MUST Await Instructions.
NJ ,Sarraut, head of the French
delegation, in the absence Of Premier
BRAND and NJ viviani. stated:
That in view Of the fact that the
new American proposal contemplated
4 considerable reduction in the sub
marine tonnage which appeared nee
essary to the French government, the
French delegation could do no other
wise than await instructions"
And so the conference committee ad-
journed until Tuesday at II am.
Japan's rejection Of the proposal to
cut her submarine tonnage below the
a. 900 mark, unless it should be n1odi-
Gontinued on Page 4, Column g.