Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-10
To LIVE
TILL 1887 IS
NEW PROPOSAL
Would Limit Guns on
Merchant Vessels to
Six Inches Caliber.
Building of Warships on
Foreign Account Addi-
tional Feature.

ciated Press. The draft of the treaty
prepared by naval and legal experts
covering the five power contract for
reduction and limitation of naval arm
ament was in the hands of the five
delegations Monday a jealously guard
ed secret as to its text. The various
national groups are understood to have
been informed by Secretary Hughes
that both text and substance of the
proposed pact were looked upon as
highly confidential by the state depart
ment, yet enough information leaked
through the barriers of silence to show
that numerous wholly new features
are included in the draft copy.
Among these, it is understood, is
proposal that the duration of the pact
be until 1887 Another new item is
the propose! to limit the size of guns
used on merchant ships to six inch cal
iber as compared to the eight inch
weapons authorized for naval auxiliary
craft Still another is authority for
the construction of warships on foreign
, account within the jurisdiction of the
five powers. provided the size limita
tions on such ships laid down for the
five nations in the treaty are not eX-
ceeded in building for an outside
power.
The treaty begins with lengthy
pr fuuiUlt SellilS lOEtii iue otPpSC ci
the covenant. the limitation of naval
power to the end that the burdens of
taxation on the peoples of the five
countries may be relieved
Has 20 Articles
The calling of the conference and
its work is briefly reviewed in the
preamble. then follow the articles of
the treaty. % in number. and a mass
of appended matter to which specific
reference is made in the various ar
ticles in order to present in detail the
agreement covered in each general
statment of the traty propr.
Only details of technical phraseology
remain to he worked out before the
treaty is ready for signature. Each of
the five delegations. meeting separate
/ ly. Monday began an examination OF
| the tentative draft prepared by the
subcommittee of experts The dele
CATION heads are to come together to
/ compare opinions and it is expected
/ that the complete text will be ready
! for publication to the world at pen-
airy session of the conference Thurs
day or Friday.
| Questions of definition. particularly
with reference to the status of mer-
chant vessels in war time. are under
| stood to be the chief concern of the
delegates in their efforts to agree OH
wording acceptable to everyone.
| Shantung Question Hangs
! With the armament end of the con-
f! ference approaching final disposition.
the delegates are preparing to press
the far eastern discussions to an early
conclusion. The Shantung question
still is in deadlock. but fresh hope of
settlement was aroused when it be-
came apparent that the negotiations
on that subject were turning into new
channels.
| Some delegates took so optimistic
view of the outlook that they were
predicting a plenary session for Satur-
| day or Monday to announce completion
of the far eastern treaty. Arthur D.
Ralfour. head of the British. made def
| mite plans to sail for home on Tuesday
of next week and his colleagues declar-
ed it was entirely likely that he would
| sign the fair eastern agreement before
his departure.
On the other hand. it became appar-
ent that the study of the naval treaty
! text by individual delegations was
promising to consume more time than
originally had been allotted for it.
/ Late Monday it was decided to sus-
pend plans for Tuesdays committee
| meeting 2Ou TO noiu tue meeting OL
heads of delegations late Tuesday.
| The merchant ship question. as treat
| ed in the subcommittee draft of the
treaty. would be settled by limiting
the armament of merchantmen to six
inch guns and by prohibiting the con-
version of any commercial vessel of
more than 10000 tons into a naval
auxiliary. There was general ex-
pectation that these provisions would
be finally accepted.
| In American circles the relation of
merchant shipping to the general naval
question was discussed from a new
angle as result of a suggestion by
Homer l.. Ferguson. head of the New
pert News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
company. that the arms conference
agree on an ALLEGATION of shipping facil-
tiles and opportunities. The proposal
was laid before President Harding at
a White House conference attended by
Mr.. Ferguson, Chairman Lasker Of the
| shipping board, and Chairman Jones
Of the senate commerce committee, but
there appeared no immediate prospect
that it would receive administration ap-
proval.
Another question said to remain un-
determined h sthe tentative draft Of
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