The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-10-08
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

WASHINGTON, Oct. S.-The United
States government is deeply gratihed over
the decision of Great Britain to include
representatives of Canada. New Zealand
and Australia in the British delegation
to the armament conference nextSmOnth.
Back of this manifestation of pleasure
Is an interesting inside story which
must relate. first, how misunderstanding
ings can arise between nations, and how
frunkness ON the part of our public off,
cials has checkmated a possible false i'm
preston at the very start.
Somehow or another Premier Hughes
of Australia has. gotten the idea that the
United States didn't want TO see the
British dominions represented. He said
IN his latest speech that America had
slammed the door against Australian
representation. Sitting 5000 miles from
Washington and London. it was not I'M
natural that the Australians should have
lnisconstrued what was going on. In
deed. many newspapers. in Canada have
given an impression of disappointment
that the United States was In some way
responsible for blocking Canadian repre-
SentatiOn There was a feeling that
America might well have issued a direct
invitation TO NdHdud, new Ltdluil6l HIiN
Australia because their shores were
washed by the Pacific and they are as
much interested in settling the problems
of the Pacific as are the people of fhe
United States.
Could Not Invite DOminiOns
But America couldn't issue such an in
vitatiOn To do so would be to offend
the British government at London which
has scrupulously insisted that the for
eign affairs Of her dominions be handled
through the London government and not
direct between Washington and Mel
bourne. The United States government
didn't feel that it would even
be proper to say anything in
formally to the British government
about the desire of the American people
to see the British dominiOns- respected.
1t was considered the heighth of indiscre-
ion for our government to tell Great
Britain how she should choose her del
ngatiOn The status of the dOminlons
we're so far as the American government
was concerned that of sovereign states
like New York or Ohio, but in inteIna-
tiunal affairs the central government
llone could be dealt with.
Pleasant Solution
Naturally when the British govern
ment of its own volitiOn therefore chooses
a delegate each from Canada, New Tea
land and Australia. the " aShlngton gov
prnment is plainly pleased and does not
hesitate to show it. But such a speech
as Premier Hughes has made in Australia
based upon his belief that the dOminiOns
would have been invited before except
for Americas unwillingness cannot be
offset except by q statement of the facts.
News dispatches to Australia are prob
ably Ineagre Also there is 30 telling
what may have been said in official com
munications between London and Mel
bourne For indeed there was some mis-
conception in Britain about the size of
the various delegations. Everybody rec
ognized the value of small delegations
it makes conference work easier and more
rapid. But ut no time did the United
States seek TO limit the size of any dele
CATION From the first it was made clear
that each delegation would vote as a
unit anyway and that it. did not make
anv practical difference whether dele
cation had three or six or ten. So the
United States is sticking to the original
number-fd1r-wh Great Britain has
decided to have six OF the six, three will
be representatives of the domlnions
America is happy over it and our gov
eminent knows that eventually when the
true story is told in Australia there viii
be an abandonment forthwith of any
notion that the United States slammed
the door" In fact, more than one cir
cumstance points to the fact that the
United States has hoped from the start
that the British domiIlions would be rep
resented at the forthcoming conference.