The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-10
DELEGATIONS
ARE STUDYING
TREATY DRAFT
Tentative Pact Understood to
Contain a Number Of New
Features Extension of
Time Rumored.
TURNING TO SHANTUNG
fBv Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.-Delega-
tlons of the five naval powers contin-
ued today their separate study of the
draft treaty prepared by naval and
legal experts to cover their naval linn
itation agreement preliminary to a
meeting later in the day of delegation
heads to compare opinions on detailed
provisions of the draft.
The treaty was give nto the sew
eral delegations for study late yester-
day and the time required for this
caused postponement of the meeting
of the full naval committee originally
planned for today until tomorrow.
The committee was expected, how
ever, to reach final agreement on the
text within two or three days and the
treaty to be ready for publication to
the world at plenary session of the
conference on Thursday or Friday
New Features
Although a carefully guarded secret
IN both substance and text the tenta-
tive draft is understood to include a
number of wholly new features, chief
among these a proposal to extend the
duration of the pact until 1887, this not
TO affect, however, the ten-year period
of the naval holiday.
Another new provision would au-
thorize construction of warships on
foreign account within the jurisdiction
of the five powers, the size limitations
on such ships to conform with those in
the treaty.
The treaty draft would settle the
merchant ship problem by limiting the
armament of merchantmen to six-inch
guns, thus making armed merchant
ment definitely inferior to regular or
converted naval auxiliary vessels
which may carry S-inch guns, and also
it is understood by prohibiting the
conversion of any commercial vessel
of more than 10000 tons into a naval
auxiliary.
Still Question
Although it was expected these pro
visions would be finally accepted, the
merchant ship problem was still one
of the questions of definition which
were understood to be the chief con-
Germ of the delegates in their efforts
to agree on wording acceptable to
everyone
With the armament program of the
conference nearing final disposition,
the delegates were preparing today to
PiC1S W al VdliS tolSIuoloh oiSo llS
Far Eastern discussions and TO this
end it was apparent that Shantung
negotiations were being turned into
new channels with revived hopes of
agreement.
The nature of the latest move had
not been revealed, but both the Chin
ese and japanese implied that new
and promising elements had been in
| jected into the negotiations.
/ Some Optimistic.
Believing that the other remaining
| elements of discord in the Far East
were not of a nature to lead to extend
ed debate, some of the delegates were
so optimistic regarding the outlook as
| to predict a plenary session for Sat.
urday or Monday to announce com.
pletion of the Far Eastern treaty.
| Arthur j. Balfour, head of the Brit
ish delegation had completed definite
arrangements today to sail for home
next Tuesday and his colleagues on
| the delegation said it was entirely
probable that he would sign the Far
Eastern agreement before his depar
ture.