Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-18

ated into a ''lame duck" admins
tration.
E FOREIGN POLICY
/ A LII the Washington eorrespon-
dents are sending out "inspir-
ed" dope to effect that the Hard
ing administration is about to take
a new departure in its foreign pol
icies through Intervention in Eu-
ropean affairs. Col. George Har-
vey has been summoned to Wash
ington to consult with the presi-
dent, we are told. At first we were
told that he was coming home be-
cause his wife was sick and he
wanted to bring her back to the
United States, and that Colonel
Harvey's trip home was purely
personal. But as Colonel Harvey
has sent his wife to the continent
and she is not coming home with
him that excuse did not work very
well, and it is now admitted that
George Harvey was sent for by
President Harding because he is
supposed to be better posted on the
situation in Europe than other Dip
lomats-especially the threatened
break between Great Britain and
France.
Colonel Harvey is not as free
with his mouth as he was when he
first went to Europe. In fact, he
has been saying very little about
American policies in Europe late
ly. One explanation of that fact
offered is that he has changed his
mind about them, and another is
that he had a strong hint from
Washington to the effect that the
subject was a delicate and danger
Gus n both at home and abroad
and silence on his part would be a
golden policy. When he first went
abroad Colonel Harvey told the
European nations that they could
safely bet that Uncle Sam would
have nothing to do with their prob
lens. That he went into the fight
against Germany for purely selfish
reasons of his own, and not for any
aItruistic purposes. That these pur-
poses having been accomplished
by the defeat of Germany they
could count on the American re-
public maintaining a policy of iso-
lation as far as the problems of
| Europe were concerned. He told
them that he knew that he spoke
the sentiments Of President Hard
ing and the present administration
in making public these statements.
While President Harding never
expressly repudiated his diplomat
ic representative to London, he did
slightly gloss over the bald blunt
ness of Colonel Harvey's state
ments, and said he was willing to
help Europe provided it cost no
money and involved no obligations.
Shortly after this he called the
Washington disarmament confer
ence which was supposed to do
away with any chance of war in the
Pacific ocean countries. But while
Great Britain and Japan have rati-
fled that treaty, France and Italy
have not ratified it. Moreover
these latter two signatories to the
treaty make no bones about saying
they never will ratify it. To cap
the climax of the disappointment
at Washington it is said that
Japan and Great Britain have
been arming themselves with a
multitude Of small vessels while
scrapping their large vessels in &C
cord with the treaty provisions,
and that they are really increasing
the power of their navies while
nominally decreasing such power.
It is now limited that we will have
to have another disarmament con-
ference with rules applying to light
cruiser construction before we can
get any where with the naval dis
armament program.
We do not know just what the
administration has in mind in the
way of Intervention at this late
date in European affairs, and the
administration, very wisely and
property, we think, is maintaining
a thick veil of secrecy owe its pro-
posals. Publicity at this time
might we'll be fatal to it's plans.
Some say that it is a proposition
to act as umpire between France