Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1922-01-12
REvIEWOF
CURRENT EVENTS
Frances Excessive Demands for
Submarines Block Agree
-ment on That Topic. i:
Mr.. BALFOuR'S PLAIN TALK
Use Of submersibles Against Com.
Z merce May Be Forbidden-lrisil
People Urge Ratification Of
Peace Treaty-longer oe-
cupation Of Haiti Con.
sidered Necessary.
BY EDWARD w. PIcKARD

sidered Necessary.
BY EDWARD W.. PicKARD
ORANGES conception of her needs
- in the way of a defensive navy
and the firmness with which. her dele
gates upheld their position brought
about complete deadlock in the
Washington conference last week and
,, made it almost certain that no agree
ment will be reached by the present
gathering concerning the reduction
and limitation of submarines and aux
iliary naval Tonnage The other pow
| ers participating in the conference
were willing to concede the fairness
| of. the French position concerning the
! reduction of her lind armament, but
they feel that in this naval matter
France is demanding too much.
Albert Sarraut, having received
fresh instructions from Paris, told
/ the naval committee that France .ac-.
cepted the allowance Of 175,000 tons
Of capital ships, contingent uppn per-
/ mission to begin replacement building
in 1927 instead of 1881, hut insisted
| That she be- allowed 10000 tons of
submersibles and $4,000 tons Of aux.
iliary ships. The. submarine tonnage
q he asked is equal to the maximum
proposed by Mr.. Hughes for Great
Britain and the United States and
/, three times what France now has.
i Mr.. ,BalfoHr, In Language as platn
J as diplomatic usage permits, retorted!
that France could want such a snhmA.
rtne fleet for no other purpose than
illegal use against commerce, that the
plan was a. direct threat against
Great Britain, and that In the circum-
stances the British would agree to no
limitation In the building Of cruisers,
Aestroyers and other anti-submarine
vessels 70 N. sarragt's assertion
that British fears Of FRENCH aaggTres.
sion were baseless since Britain was
allowed capital ship tonnage greater
than that of FRANCE and Italy com.
bined, Mr.. Balfour replied that, in the
sYe9t of war between Great Britain
and France, Rns'Rnd, hsaytng no large
&. army, could not strike at the heart 81
France, but France, employing a great
navy of submarines against commeree
! could destroy the Every existence" Of
Britain: To the layman 1t would seem
stf,at MI. Balfour had the best Of; the
fdeiate, but ". sarraut was unyield
Ings Therefore III. Hughes, dsplbrine
:-tf,cs attitude Of the French, an
nounced with regret that an agree
ment on the reduction, and iinaitatiaH
of submarine and auxiliary tonnage
appeared impossible.
i i
'nEsPlTE this, the naval cQ,mYlmblttfei
A/reached other agreements 81
great importance which, 1t was as
.apaed the conference would confirm
in it's, next pleRary SESSION. One Of
these limits the caliber Of cAnitR]
sttnsguns to l6 inches. Another wass
that the use Of submarines against
commerce be barred. The latter, Ii
thet form Of resolution drafted b5
ElilIu Root as an established part Of
International law, is as follows: s
'.The signatory powers. desiring t
make more effective the rules adopted
by Civilized nations for the protection
OF tho lives of neutrals and noncom
batalts BIT sea ~ tine Of war, declart
that samong those fdles:'th fpl]pwlul
areyto be deemed al establisRsg psafI
Of International law:
A merchant vessel must he Of
dered to stop for visit ana search f
determine it's character before It enE
be captured.
"Amerchant vessel must not be lat
tackled unless It refuses to stop 70
visit and search after warning.
!, "Asmerchant vessel must not be de
strUyed unless the crew and passen
geral been first placed In safety.
'2 Belligerent submarines are moi
undHr any circumstances, exempt fror
the aalvfs&a' t E48les a Rys stated T. an
II a. submarine cannQt cRpt4re a. psi
chaat vessel in conformity with thes
rules the existing law Of natioRs re
quires 1t to desist4 from attack an
from capture and to permit the ;met
chant, vessel to proceed unmolested."
President Harding is not disheart
enedby the failure to reach an. agree
mention submarines but tQHeis that ||llia} /
necessary the conferences Will gfffiNa
} for another parley, at an early dat
to further consider that and othe
questions Of armament Limitation an
thatali nations maintaining navle
} VIII be invited to participate. Hee RI
gardssit as. uniting that five IA
tions should set out TO Iegislats "a
the whole world. =. ~ 81:
CONSIDERABLE progvess was mad
Mn settling the, Chinese. puzzle
lIr. underWoo compro mlse plan ID
the Chinese thrift was accepted by a
the. powers. This provides for an I'm
me1iate increase in tSriff Of 5 pc
centssa vhlosaR, p future increase I