Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-02-25
aIckERINc AND BUSINESS

No men are infallible. This of
course includes the distinguished
gentlemen who represented this
country at the Washington Confer
ence. And while, also. 1t must be ad-
mitted that occasionally those not so
DISTINGUISHED discover that which
was overlooked by their superiors one
may not avoid the comparison. which
is inevitable, between those who are
setting themselves Up as critics of
the work and those who performed
II.
The Senate is within its rights in
exercising the privilege Of thorough
~ examining that work, but when
senators set to pickering for the sake
Of wrangling. they will do well to re-
member a few things. One is that
the people are pretty well Informed
respecting the subject under discus
sion; another is that they are not to
be easily frightened. They know
that an agreement respecting condi-
tions in the Pacific, subjected to pub
licity and agreed upon by men ad-
mitted to be comp-t tent and respect
ing whom there is no suspicion, is
not an "entangling" alliance. and we
do not believe they are profoundly
impressed with the need of blanket"
or other reservations. They are
keeping in mind what this work Is,
over which the debates are waxing
warm. They. in the main. we think,
Will feel hat Mr.. Hoover in his re-
cent address fairly estimated it. He
said:
Looking at the results solely from
our American point OF view we can
content ourselves in great accom-
plishments. The jeopardy of war has
been most assGredly driven beyond
our generation. Naval rivalry with
England has been stopped, with all
the implications which must follow
from that rivalry. The Anglo
japanese Alliance has been aban-
doned. The points Of friction be-
tween ourselves and Japan have been
settled. Tho major difficulties be-
tween Japan and China have been
adjusted so that good will may re-
place hate in the Far East. The tide
of foreign aggression on the frontiers
OF China has been turned back. The
open door to commerce and industry
OF all nations in China has at last
been made effective. With all these
solutions vast growth of malign
political forces have been uprooted
which, IL unchecked, would have driv-
en- unalterably TO war. The world
could not go on in these rivalries in
implements to kill, rivalries that
were based on growing political irri-
tations. without entering upon the
Job OF killing.
This is the first precise and sub
stantial contribution in history to the
problem OF disarmament. 1t is not
only stop to the race for armament,
but II is more, in that it provides an
usTccu rdlO Oh strength. InlS ratio
has been "ettled on foundations that
protect the sensibilities and interests
and enlist the good will of each of
the great powers. Now that this
ratio Is determined, / trust the day
will come when we can agree that the
same relative strength. the same de-
gree OF protection. the same national
dignity would be maintained il we
were to divide the units Of strength
by some common divisor.
THE agreed limitations may not
bring so much immediate reduction
In taxes as some have estimated; but
had we continued in our naval rival
ries and with the programs we had
before us. our naval expenditure
would have doubled within another
decade. II we had gone on we would
have spent in twenty years a sum
greater than the German repara-
tions."
And this is what some OF the sena-
tors would tinker. would hold up
while they may fill pages of the Con-
gressional Record With speeches
'poken--in part at least-for politi-
cal effect. There is 4 distinction be.
tween pickering and business.