The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-08-16
WOULD LIKE u S.
IN ALLIANCE
England Wants America LIN
AnglO-Jpaanese
Agreement
THIS COUNTRY WILL
NOT BE ENTANGLED
No Formal Proposition but American
Governments Attitude Has Been
SOught-Harding Administration Is
Opposed TO Foreign EntaBglements.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


Especial Despatch to The Reformer.
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16.-Great
Britain would like to broaden the Anglo
japanese alliance 50 that in its place
would be a treaty between the United
States, Great Britain and Japan.
Indications of the British desire have
reached here in a purely informal way
and throw an interesting light on the
motives and hopes of the powers who will
be assembled at the Washington confer
ence.
The United States government has not
been asked to become party to the An
glo-Japanese alliance-nothing so for-
NAL as that has boon suggested though
it is interesting to note that the Japan
ese press as early as last June began dis
cussing just such a plan. The American
government Is aware of the British atti-
/ tude as reflected in the statement made
| to the dominion premiers and it is con-
| sidefed the better part of wisdom here
| to make no comment. direct or indirect
upon the vicissitudes of British diplO-
macy.
Vet tie facts are coming out slowly TO
show why the Washington conference
was summoned and what were the con-
trolling influences in the conversations
which preceded the decision to call the
nations together not merely on disarma-
ment, but on Far Eastern questions.
The English Attitude.
The most significant statement from
rhe British thus far which has not failed
Ito be noticed here is the following SEN.
tencc iii the summary of the official pro-
eoedingS Of the imperial conference of
dominion premiers:
I'm accordance with the suggestion
which was believed to havesb been made by
The American government that the con.
ference on disarmament should be pre-
coded by friendly conversations or con-
SITUATIONS between the powers principally
concerned IN the future of the Far East
and the Pacific, the imperial conference.
anxious that for the Anglo Japanese
agreement there should be substituted
some larger arrangement between the
three great powers concerned. namely
the United States, Japan and Great
britain. discussed these preliminary
conversations or consultations which the
American government had in principle
agreed should be held in London"
The British official account indicates
that owing to misunderstanding as Ito
the nature of the suggested preliminary
conversations" the British government
including Prime Minister Lloyd George
ana the dominion premiers We're prepared
10 attend a meeting in Washington in
stead of London and Japan .'signified her
Willingness to attend But the British
official summary goes a step further and
remarks that ''the American government.
however, did not favor the idea which
was accordingly dropped
Wanted Three Nations Bound.
In other words back OF the suggestion
OF preliminary conference at Washing
IL A
November was n hope that the United
states would somehow announce her adj |
hefenee TO an enlarged Anglo-Japanesf |
agreement to be a three -cornered sort of |
offensive and defensive alliance. The
british government saw in such pact /
a way to appeaSe the dominion premiers
ana at the same time heal possible fric, /
tlon between the United States andj
Japan. But the American government /
Squeiched the suggestion of preliminary
conference without even permitting tlel
subject OF an enlarged Anglo-J apaneseI
alton.
So far as the records show. indeed |
there isn't anything formal in the ex-
change between the representatives of thel
United States and British governmental
to indicate that Great Britain asked onrl
views. Nevertheless in purely personhll
way such information as the British NAV n
have sought to determine our attitude
was given. America is absolutely OBJ n
posed to dual alliances or three-corneredI
treaties of any kind involving such OBJ
legations az are contained i'm the Auglo-
Japanese agreement. To be sure the1l
Harding administration has placed ITSELF
1n record as opposed to any arrangement
even though it include all the powers of
The world, such as the league covenantj
whereby obligations of mill
tarS character are directly or Indirectly n
implied or expressed Feeling that way
about the league of nations, any Iro- II
Dosal for a three-cOrnerqd treaty wouldg
meet the same fate. The British have
not yet learned the depth of feeling in a
he Harding administration on that
phase of international affairs as only a