New-York tribune., 1922-02-21
Incompatible With Public
Interest TO Disclose
Confidential Convcrsa-
lions, President Holds
No Secret Notes or
Understandings
Hitchcock to Insist That
Hughes Be Summoned;
Nap Pac' Reported Out

o. The 1'1bumcs lvoshinotou Burccu
NASNlNGTON. Feb 20. President
Harding to-day advised the Senate tha.
II was impossible to comply with the
Hitchcock resolution asking for tho rec
orda minutes, conversations and like
Data or the four power treaty drawn up
ut tho armament limitation conference.
'lo SAID that many Of tho things which
thc senate asked for could not be fur
u'shed because no records existed and
that he deemed it Incompatible with the
public interest and the amenities of in
ternatioual negotiations to reveal in
formal and confidential conversations
or discussions.
Nhon the letter from the President
was read in tho Senate, Senator H tch-
Coz declared that the "vcil Of secrecy
mad been thrown about the four-power
treaty negotiations and that nothing re
manned bat to call Secretary Hughes to
appear before the Foreign Relations
Committee. No definite steps, however,
N'lt lHhttI III jN1S NlrCCLlDn.
The Presidents letter said
"Responsivc to Senate resolution No.
237 asking for records, minutes, argu-
mcnts, debates, conversations, etc, re
latng to the so-called four power
treaty, have to advise that it is i'm
possible TO comply with the Scnate's re
quest. Many Of the things asked for in
the rcsolutioi' it is literally imposs bile
to furnish because there are many con
versatlons and discussions quite outside
the conference yet vital to its success
Naturally these are without record.
Conversations Confidential
81 do not believe it to be compatible
with public interest or consistent with
the amenities of international negotia-
ton TO attempt to reveal informal and
contldcntla lal conversations or discus
sions, of which no record was kept, or
to submit tentative suggestions or in
formal proposals, without which the
arrival at desirable international
understandings would be rendered un-
likely if not impossible.
"Whilc | am unable to transmit the
information requested, | do, however
take this opportunity to say most EN-
phatically that there were no concealed
understandings and no secret ex-
'''diiStc VI iitttS. anu LutIt are UC
commitments whatever. except as ap-
pear in the four-power treaty itself
and the supplementary agreement
which are now in the hands of the
Senate"
No plan was announced for calling
Secretary Hughes. Senator Hitchcock
has gone to Nebraska for the week. 1r-
reconcilables and Democrats conferred
informally and expressed the opinion
that MIR. Hughes would be asked to
appear.
II did not anticipate there was any
thing with reference to the four-power
treaty that the President would be able
to submit to the Senate said Senator
Borah.
Borah Not Surprised
"Thereforc, | am not disappointed
No written record was ever kept of the
secret conference, and as no records 8
exist OF the nature demanded by the
Hitchcock resolution Of course the
President could hardly be expected to
tainly be debated on the floor of the
Senate when the proper time comes"
Senator Johnson gave out state
ment in which he took sarcastic fling
az the lack of information about the
four-power treaty. He said:
Admittedly the new quadruple aIls-
ance or four-power treaty is of the
utmost Importance. When the Presi-
dent presented this and the other new
treaties to the Senate and so eloquently
asked their ratification, he said
Accompanying the treaties | bring
to YOU the complete minutes of both
plcnary and committee meetings. and
a copy of the official report made to me
by the American delegation to the con-
ference
open and simple diplomacy has
given US every scrap Of information
concerning every subject dealt with by
the conference except the all-important
one whereby the Anglo-Japanese alli-
ance was superseded by the new quad
ruple alliance.
1T may well be that it was impos-
sibe to preserve any record Of what
was done by the four nations in this re
gard, but if it were impossible it is most
Continued next pags)