Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-20
ACCEPTED IN PRINCIPLE
CRETARY OF STAT E
- HUGHES has sprung number

Of surprises on the delegates OF
foreign nations at the disarmament
conference at Washington, and in
variably they are accepted in prin-
ciple" by the foreign delegates,
who then take up the proposition
and white away at it with their
jack-knives until there is little left
Of it but a bare pole. Even the
naval disarmament proposal has
been trimmed down to a point
where no vessels are to be scrap
ped at all, but certain number are
to be taken out of the naval fight
ing force, and used for some other
purpose. They could probably be
converted into fighting ships again
very easily if need arises. We
have, of course, the naval holiday
left, but as it now stands, it does
not apply to the smaller war craft
ships. under 10000 tons, but only to
battleships, and the contest in ex-
penditures may go on just the same
along the lines of submarines, tor
pedo boats and light cruisers.
But, perhaps, the most ironical
proposition Of all, advanced by Sec
rotary Hughes, was the statement
that the nations represented at the
conference, pledge themselves to
promote and protect the sovereign
ity of China and preserve its terri
torial integrity. Every nation rep
resented at Washington, promptly
accepted in principle" that state
ment, and then, without cracking a
smile, they went on to deny to
China the right to raise tariff reve-
nue. to the amount of only 12H per
cent on goods coming in to China
from foreign countries, and to gen.
erously tell her that she might
charge as high as five per cent in
view of her great need Of revenue.
If there is anything that is char
acteristic Of an independent SOW
ereign state, it is its power to levy
its own customs duties. Devoted
to buttressing the sovereignty of
China Gin principle" the confer
ence at Washington was unanim-
ously opposed to permitting this
sovereign state to tax their goods
entering China beyond a nominal
| five per cent, though most Of the
other countries tax Chinese goods
entering their domains from fifty
to one hundred per cent. This
leads the Florida Times-Union to
remark: ........
But, why can't the peace confer
ence keep its hands off China? 1t
should restore the rights Of that
country and then leave it free to
do as it pleases, just as any other
nation is free. If America can i'm
pose 40 per cent tariff, why may
not China do the same thing? If
America is perfectly free to write
any tariff she pleases, why should
not China be equally free?
"China can't make as bad mess
i of it as America has made, and will
make. China will not take more
than SIS from the Chinese for every
dollar that goes into her treasury
and this America has been in the
habit of doing for years and de-
cades. China's rights should be
acknowledged at once, or not at
all. If it is asserted that she is
not capable Of self-government,
how will she learn self government
without practicing it? No one can
learn to swim while keeping away
from the water. The world is put
ting up with such government as
is furnished by other free nations.
Why not with the self-government
that China will have7 The nations
that are regulating ChinaS affairs