The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-02-04
FIVE POWER
NAVAL TREATY
COMPLETED
Draft To Be Sub
nitted to Plenary
Session Of A T m S
Conference w e d :
nesday

Washington. Jan. 80 (By the
Associated Press ).-Thc text Of the
five power naval treaty, to carry
into effect the capital ship settle
rleDt. the limitations placed on
auxiliary warcraft. and the status
quo" agreement regarding Pacific
Notifications. was put into final
form today and vii! be placed be-
fore the world at a plcnary session
of the arms conference on WcdncS-
; day.
Final agreement on the fortifi-
cations article. for weeks The only
provision Of the treaty remaining
incoInplctc. came after Japan had
suggested and other powers had
agreed that the American .ilcutian
islands which arc part Of Alaska,
should DC included in the area in
which no further Qualifications or
naval bases are to Dc erected.
As accepted the provision pledges
: the powers to maintain in their
present status the for,ification OF
the Philippines. Guam. the Aleu-
tian islands and various smaller
Pacific possessions Of the United
/; States. Formosa and other Japa-
nesc islands stretching 20 the north
and south from the principal Jap
anese group, and the British port
+; Of HonSkonS. together with j num-
Der of British islands lying TO the
southeast The Japanese main
F.. land. Japanese Sakhalin. British
Singapore and the Hawaiians do not
fall under the prohibition.
Although at first regarded By tn"
{: american delegation rs part os
I tho American mainland for all the
purposes Of the treaty the AleutiaIl
group is said in American naval
circles tonight to have little s,rate-
gic value in any OF the naval plars
F; of the general board. The JapaDes"
on the other hand are understo"',
! to have taken the position that the
I archipelago. stretching out from
the Alaskan mainland toward ST.
J beria. might become a potential
.".to, in the Far Eastern situation
if 1t became the site OF an Amcri-
can naval base.
! Among the japanese islands list
Cd as falling within the status
{; QUO" significance is attached in
! naval circles to Fcrmosa and the
+, various island chains which stretch
away to the sou. ward from the
+; main Japanese group. 1t would be
in these waters. in the opinion Of
many naval experts. that the most
! potential Japanese naval bases
] could be developed. The belief that
j japan might in the future desire
TO build a great naval establishment
! on F'ormosa and might also fortify
! tho I4oochoo and other groups IL
order to bottle up tho Yellow sea
and the, Sea of Japan has long been
! prevalent among naval authorities.
In the same way japanese naval
I opinion has held that America
I would possess 4 powerful foothoId
! in tho Far East if Il naval base
were erected on the American
island of Guam, now excluded from
f! further fortification along with the
! Formosa and the PcScadorcs. SO
; tar. however. American naval au-
! .loriticS have taken no steps to-
I ward establishing such base.
which they have felt might not be
worth the s500.000,000 it would
cost.
As finally agreed to. the text Of
j the Qualifications article contains
/ provisions for such repair and re-
! placement as may be necessary to
! keep establishments now existing
within the status quo area up TO
their present standard OF efficiency.
/ This stipulation Will permit the
small marine base in operation on
/ Guam to remain along with the
F. tcrtifications that have been IN
stalled in the past by Japan on
! Formosa. 1t is declared by confer
cncc spokcSmcn, too. that the
language Of the provision is broad
enough TO permit bona fidc com
I mcrc::ll Development Of The status
: oun" area even though thc COM
nlcrcial establishments installed
might be capable Of conversion FOR
var uses in case Of hoStiliicS.