The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-30
HUGHES WINS
in MAJORITY
OF PROPOSALS
Have Been Adopted Quietly
and Gradually Almost En-
tirely-Cynicism Not Com
mon-Reporters Tired.
EAST NOT INTERESTING
by MARK SULLIVAN

ahce OF It's Importance is case
OF appearances only-is unfortunate,
and fails to take account of some
things that are about to happen.
For the lessening of interest there
are several causes. | have already
quoted Ring Lardners remark on the
opening day, when the world was
thr!led over what Secretary Hughes
had done.
Mr. Lardner, having a professional
writers sense of dramatic sequence,
realized that the laws of drama had
noen violated and remarked, I'm go
ing home, this is going to be bum
show. They've let The hero kill the
villain in the first act"
There was another well known iour-
ralist at the opening session who also
Lad a prophetic foresight. Haywood
Broun sharing the high exaltatfon we
@d felt that day and realizing that
success had already been nine-tenths
won by what Mr.. Hughes did remark.
The only thing that can now endan-
per the success of this conference is
Inc cynicism of diplomats and news
paper men"
Diplomats Not Cynical
rs TO the diplomats. | don't think
they have been cynical. It was only
from the diplomats of one country
clone. France, that any gesture came
which really endangered the confer
cnce. Ordinarily cynicism may be a
common attribute of diplomats. but
most Of the diplomats of the world
are not cynical just now. They are too
seriously concerned TO be cynical. For
one experiment towards bringing peace
10 troubled world to fail was bad
enough. The diplomats realize that if
this second attempt should fail the
he peoples OF the world might do
things that would be excessively un-
comfortable for the DIPLOMATS and gov
erning classes generally
AS to the newspaper men. they arc
not all cynical. The very great mr.
Jority share the general spirit of het Q
and helpfulness towards the present
confegence. and have exalted admira-
tion for the men who are managing il.
1t is true that in the spots where
cynicism is, it is in highly concen-
'rated form. Some of it may derive
added acid from certain personal euua-
sions. Some of the publicity that de-
cries the conference comes from
sources that years ago had occasion
10 feel warmly toward Mr.. Hughes
Mr.. Hughes in the course of his CT
reer has gone pretty straight down
the middle of the road, and has left
scars in some quarters
This whole subject of publicity
which has seemed to have the effect
Of decrying Secretary Hughes. has
been a subject of very wide word OF
mouth discussion in Washington.
Motive is a very difficult thing to be
sure about; but at least it can he
said that there has been much search
ing out of presumed motives.
Trying Pace for Press.
Aside from however much there is
in this sort of thing, many newspaper
men who are not at all cynical are,
nevertheless very tired. It has been
81 trying pace. Also newspaper mon
have seen their stories Of the arma-
ment conference. after occupying the
iirst page for several weeks, pass
back to the third page.
This very week they have seen
their armament dispatches take sec
ond place. behind the news of a CON
ference on agriculture. BalfOur yield
ing The stage to q dirt farmer. 1t has
~ tendency to take the pep out Of the
lCms conference reporters.
Another reason for the decrying Of
1ti. f1uSuhS DIT ILt tblllCl GiitG Ill SDii4U
auarters is the bias of some Of the
writer's Anyone who has reason to
he strongly pro-French and anti-Brit-
ish. or vice versa, in his leauings
tends naturally to reflect his bias in
his disposition to regard the confer
encc as q failure or success. The
same is true as regards China and
Japan.
Way to Decide
There is one sure way for the
reader to measure for himself whether
the conference has been a success or
not Garry your mind back to the
opening session Recall Mr.. Hughes
speech Recall the high eXaltatiOn
with which ne Hughes plan was re
Ceived Recall how you yourself felt
that Saturday night, Then try to I'M
agine that some voice from heaven,
on that night, had said that of all that
Nr. Hughes proposed 80 per cent
would come true. Try to imagine how
The world would have felt if that
had happened in that forceful way.
The truth is. il has happened. The
mere affect that it has happened grad
uaIly and quietly, by piecemeal in
stead of spectacularly. should not rob
US of appreciation of it,
The fact Is that every word Mr..
Hughes uttered that day has been
adopted with the single exception of
the variation involved in letting Japan
keep the Mutsu-and that was not a
? per cent variation. The more de-
tailed plan which Secretary Hughes
did not read. but which accompanied
his proposal and which related to
minor and auxiliary craft, has been
changed in some respects. largely be-
cause of the French reCalcitrancy.
But these auxiliary aspects of naval
armament did not figure in the emo
tions of the world the night after Mr..
Hughes speech. Of all that speech
contained. and Of all that so elevated
The hopes of the world, the fulfilment
is nearer to 100 per cent than to 80.
Interest in Far East lags
) This central fact has been obscured
by the fact that the conference in its
latter aspects has drifted into the field
Continued on Page Eleven.)