The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-01-10
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1922.
THE BATTLEPLANE MENACE

The submarine gets black eye. Also
the use of aerial torpedoes and gas is out
lawod to the point of harmlessness. And
tn budding of big battleships is forbid
deu. The achievements of the arms con-
fcrees have been far beyond the most OPP
timistic expectations expressed by world
leaders before the conference The inhu-
manity OF war has been lessened, if the
pac;S approved are lived up to, but the
end of war is not vet in sight.
1t is significant to note the clause
Inserted in each of the three Root docu-
ment.. inviting all the other nations of
tho world to join in the covenants For
it must be remembered that only five
great civilized powers were represented
in ,ne major deliberations of the confer
encc. There are many other nations cap
a HE 90 ,.ag1ng war. and possessed of that
"pr:.r. Onarrcl=omp feeling" and if these
nations. roo. are not restrained along with
the big five. almost any power, even an
insignificant one. could sweep the
Earth with those same machines of de-
s-ruction banned by the big FIVE.
! Another hitch arises for consideration,
! if the world Is to be made truly warless-
! Although the conferces have adopted
/ far-reaching regulations for the conduct
of war. the formal pacts signed must be
ratified by legislative bodies of the re-
spectvc countries. in the case of the Uni
tied States By the senate Any number of
distressing developments may arise in
| This connection. and the pessimist is quick
| to point out such possibilities.
! 1t would appear from the deliberations
of the conferees TINS far that the lives Of
neutrals and non-combatants on the high
/ seas are to be protected through the aboli-
! ton of the submarine a Il commerce de-
IStroyer However, the submarine remains
as n war weapon to be used freely by com
| batants. The use of gas as a war weapon
| is outlawed Perhaps after all the great
est single achievement of the conference,
the most far-rcaching in its effects upon
humanity. was the scrapping of great
gun and warships. And yet, though
this was a tremendous step forward, it
had to do more with the cutting down Of
expenses in a big way, than anything else.
1t is interesting to note in connection
with the restrictions placed on the use OF
lgas, the statement of Rear Admiral Glen
mon of the New York naval district. Sat
lurday. giving a vivid word picture of the
horrors of bombardment from the air, be
fore the board sitting to consider the pro
lposed scrapping of the R0ckaway nava
air station, which is designed to protect
! New York 1t showed that if wars were
TO be made more inhumane, the problem
of the use of the battleplane should bt
regulated along with the warship ant
submarine questions And that is cxactl!
what was being done by the conferees il
Washington. perhaps ut the same hour
tlrat ADMIRAL Glcnnon Elm New York
Imad, his spcech--a happy coincidence
TIE admiral pointed out that aerial tor
. 'pcdoc>. costing a comparatively insignifi
cant sum. used in connection with ever
more deadly gas bombs, were engines o.
destruction capable of literally wipins
New York, the worlds greatest city, com
| pleteIy off the map. With such deadly
weapon a gas, perfected today to til,
| nth degree. the world may well con