New-York tribune., 1922-03-30
Merchant Ships Guarded

Merchant Ships Guarded
! The vote on the submarine ard
poison gas treaty was II to 0. This.
agreement prevents submarine opcr-
atoms against merchant ships and
outlaws chemical warfare.
After ratification of these two
treaties, Senator Lodge, the majority
leader, brought UP the general Chimes.
treaty and it will be considered TO-
morrow
No Reservations Offered
In view Of the rapid progress on
the treaties to day Senator Lodge hones
to complete the task of ratification this
week. The general Chinese treaty. ths
Chinese customs treaty and the agree.
ment reserving United States rights In.
inundated territory remain to be dis
posed of, and they are assured of ratfi-
cation, though it is uncertain how
much discNssion over the Chinese and
Far Eastern situation will be aroused
Senators Borah, Johnson and Is
Toilette, Republicans, who voted
against the four-power treaty, voted
for the naval treaty to-day.
Senator Wadsworth protested over
the fact that, while the conference had
declared against poison gases, it had
failed TO take cognzancc of much more
deadly weapons, such as high eXplo-
sives. He proceeded to show by figures
from the Surgeon Generals Office that
the effects of poison gases in war had
been much less deadly or injurious
than generally believed.
Neither in TIE case Of the naval
treaty nor in that of the submarines
and noxious gases treaty was any
reservation or amendment offered.
Senator Hiram Johnson, who, fol-
lowing the submission of the naval
agreement to the Senate, expressed ap
prehension over abandonment of forti-
fications in the Philippines and Guam,
said he felt very many misgivings' as
to the Philippines and Guam. though
he had been advised by naval experts
that his earlier views were not war
ranted
Only Beginning, Says Borah
The naval agreement was taken up at
noon under an agreement to vote at 3
O'Clock A feature of the discussion
was speech by Senator Borah which
clearly foreshadowed an effort to make
heavy slashes in the naval and military
appropriations bill.
He declared he would support the
naval limitation agreement, but that =
should be regarded as the beginning,
not the end, of the disarmament move
ment He said he had no doubt the
conference did ali it could do at the
time, but he would look on 1t as dis
aster if the movement for armament
reduction stopped here.
at accomplishes very little" he said,
compared to what we must accomplish
in order to get the benefits of disarma-
ment."
He said the real author of the WASH
ington conference for limiting arma-
public opinion should be moided and
| directed ito achieve real disarmament"
Senator Borah pointed out that after
the pending treaties were ratified there
would still remain larger armaments
than had been heretofore known IN the
/ history of the world
"The conference was wholly unable
to deal with the submarine or any other
! instrument Of sea warfare other thsn
the airplane carrier" he continued.
Japan. he added, would be left with
all the navy she needed TO domina1s
I the Orient, budget reductions would
/ be comparatively small and the wes-
! pons of modern warfare upon the seas
/ are all without any control" he read
( from a magazine article TO the erect
Japan is building powerfui submarines
which can cross the Pacific and return
without refueling.
Land Disarmament Urged
Senator Borah wanted to know what
menace there was to the Panama Canal
| or to Hawaii.
"If we have entered into the four
power treaty and are proceeding on
the theory this means peace, then there
| ought to be some manifestation Of this
in the size of the army" he said II
do not believe there is any danger ot
attack on the canal or HAWAII. If !
thought so ] would regard the four
power treaty as a trap"
Asserting there were only two ma
tions in the world that could attack
the United States, Senator Borah said
| IL there were any danger of attack
from them, then the Senate is making
d fatal mistake in either ratifying this
| or the four-power treaty.
Senator France opposed the naval
treaty because no tribunal had been
set up to secure international justice.
and without international justice he
did not believe disarmament Justities
The present arrangement, he held, WIS
less satisfactory than the league.
Senator Harrison, of Mississippi de-
Lnied that the Republicans were entitled
| 80 all the caedit for the pending treaty
He charged that the second highest