The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-10
EARLY PUBLICATION. ARMS LIMITATION
 TREATY EXPECTED
Details of Technical Phrase oIogy Only Remain to Be Worked Out Before
 Pact Is Signed
By Associated Press

technical phraseology remain to be worked out before the treaty for lim- itation of armament is ready for sig nature by the plenipotentiaries of the five great powers.
 Passing today on its last question of policy, the armament committee of the Washington conference decided against any present attempt to limit CT regulate aerial warfare. and voted to refer the problem to a continuing commission for future study.
 Then each of the five delegations, meeting separately, began an exam ination of the tentative treaty draft prepared by the subcommittee of eX- perts The delegation heads are to come together late tomorrow to com pare opinions, and it is expected that the complete text will be ready for publication to the world at a plenary session of the conference on Thursday or Friday.
 Questions of definition, particular ly with reference to the status or merchant vessels in war time, are understood to be the chief concern of the delegates in their efforts to agree on a wording acceptable to everyone Some features of the mer- chant ship problem already have been cleared away, however, and there is no indication that prolonged dis- cussion will result.
 To Press Far East Discussion With the armament end of the con ference approaching final disposition, the delegates are preparing to press the far eastern discussions also to an early conclusion. The Shantung ques- tion still is in deadlock, but fresh l hope of settlement was aroused to- might when it became apparent that the negotiations on that subject were turning into new channels. The other remaining clements of discord in the ! far east are ont generally eonsld- ] cred of a character to lead to eN- i tended debate.
 Some delegates took so optimistic view of the outlook that they were predicting a plenary session for Sat l.rday or Monday to announce com pletion of the far eastern treaty. Ar lthur l. Balfour, head of the British delegation, made definite plans to sail for home on Tuesday of next week J and his colleagues on the delegation ! declared it was entirely likely that he ], woD5d sign the far eastern agree, lbent before his departure.
 Committee Meeting Suspended
 on the other hand, It became ap- parent tonight that the study or the naval treaty text by individual dele hgations was promising to consume
 more time than originally had been
 allotted for it. The first plaa was Ifot a meeting of the delegation heads lat 10 a. m. tomorrow to be toliowed Ian hour later by a session of the fuli lnayal committee for discussion of the text. Late today, however, atter the
 delegates had been working over questions of phraseology for seVerai hours. ft was decided to suspend plans
 for tomorrows committee meeilhe land to hold the meeting of heads oi delegatiohs late tomorrow afternoqih
 The merchant ship question, p,
 treated in the subcommittee aiaA' iof inc treaty, would be settled by im7 iting the armament of mercna ,it ,nei, to six-inch guns and by prohipitihs
 inc conversion of any commercial vessel of more than 10000 tons into
 :, naval auxiliary. There was a gen leraI expectation that these provlslohs
 would ,be finally accepted, althousn
 in some quarters there still was
 hope that arming of mercnahllile ! !
 would be even further restrlcteo III view of the prohibition against usips
 submarines as commerce destroyers
 In American circles, the relatioh oi merchant shipping to the gene' a
 naval question was discussed rom
 new angle as result or sus sses,
 ,ion hv Homer L. Ferguson. head ol
 tbe Newnort News Shipbuilding and lDrvdock company, that the arms con
 s,rarca agree on an allocation oi
 shinning facilities and opportunities
 Aircraft Plans sidetracked
 All suqpestions for limitation ol
 military aircraft were thrust asloe as limpracticable today by the naval con.
 mittee of the arms conference .h' : following. resolution being aoopleu "The committee is of the opinioi ] that if is not at present practicapt' to impose any effective hmitdp'oh' ron the numbers or characteriseic.
 of aircraft, either commerciai VI military" reached for the creation or d 1, commission of experts and Jurist' ta.e mn at some future time ) stndv of the rules of warfare II their applicat tion to aerial operations 1,be exact wording of the resolution
 f, this end including the speciii'
 r,ission of the commission and just hou tbe body was to be constituted . vae left to the drafting committee The resolution, it is said toiiow, closely the language or the repoi
 of the committee. It was chan '1s. ea however, to eliminate an eArep',pl ,tl f liehter-than-ai noted by th' ,.,,tcor,rnittee the full committee discussion making it clear that .n' , aaIayations were agreed that th'
 ssr,e general argument against re-
 strictine aircraft development pc ,1.idn nnSSiDllItIeS tnt