Evening star., 1922-01-06
SEA LAW V|0LATORS
DECLARED PIRATES
BY ARMS PARLEY
Will Be Punished as Such Un-
der Agreement on Root
Resolutions.
LIKELY TO PLACE BAN
ON POISON GAS IN WAR
Action Taken by Delegates to Make
Agreement on Submarine Use
More Effective.
BY q. GOULD LINCOLN.

By &. GOULD LINCOLN.
The committee on limitation of
armament of the Washington confer
ence today rounded out its submarine
policy with the adoption Of the fourth
Root proposal. which would provide
that a commander of a submarine vio-
lating the rules of international law
in attacking merchant vessels should
be treated as a pirate.
The conference committee also be-
gan the consideration of the question
of chemical warfare, including poison
gas.
1t was predicted by a member of
the American delegation after the
meeting that the conference would
adopt an absolute prohibition against
the use OF poison gas before adjourn
ment. This may take the form of a
separate agreement instead of being
placed in the naval treaty.
Use Of Gas Favored.
Some of the experts. it is under
stood. have favored continuation of
the use of poison gas as a proper
weapon. 1t was pointed out. how
ever. that the delegates and not the
cApcTlS Will QcClOe issue.
Senator Root laid before the COM
mittee a resolution for prohibiting
the use of poison gas in warfare.
The Root resolution relating to
submarines as adopted today follows:
THE signatory powers. desiring to
insure the enforcement of-the humane
rules of existing law declared by them
with respect to attacks upon the seiz-
ure and destruction of merchant ships,
further declare that any person in the
service of any power who shall vio-
late any of those rules, whether or
governmental superior. shall be deem
ed to have violated the laws of war,
and shall be liable to trial and pun
ishment as IL for an act of piracy. and
may be brought to trial before the
civil or military authorities of any
power within the jurisdiction Of which
he may be found"
The Root resolution relating to
prohibition of the use Of poison
gases as submitted follows:
Poison Gas Ressiutisn.
''The use in war of asphyxiating.
poisonous or analogous liquids or
justly condemned by the general
opinion of the civilized world and
prohibition of such use having been
declared in treaties to which ma
jority of the civilized powers are
parties:
hibition shall be universally accepted
as a part of international law bind
ing alike the conscience and prac-
tice of nations, the signatory powers
declare their assent to such pro-
hibition. agree to be bound there
all other civilized nations to adhere
thereto"
The Italian delegation. it was said.
is ready to accept the Root resolu-
tion, which will be considered at a
meeting of the committee tomorrow
morning.
While the committee on limitation
of armament is rapidly rounding up
all the matters still at issue in re-
gard to naval limitation. it was said
today in conference circles that there
was little chance of an open plenary
before next week, perhaps on Monday.
In British quarters, it was said that
Mr.. Balfour and Lord Lee Of the Brit
ish delegation were still planning to
leave Washington the latter part of
next week. in the belief that the con-
ference would have practically COM
pleted it's work by that time.
The naval limitation treaty. it is
insisted by both American and Brit
i3h spokesman, is not to be construed
or to provide that in the event of
one of the signatory powers becom-
ing involved in war with an outside
nation, that the other signatories
shall go to it's assistance. It is ex-
pected that ese,n the treaty ty Wli provide
ters relating to the limitation of
naval armament, in the event of de-
velopments of naval science that
would make the. present accepted
arms useless, or, in the event of po-
litical developments. as. for instance.
If a nation that is now not a naval
power and is not signatory to the
treaty shall in the future become q
great naval power.
Naval Alliance.
As a matter Of fact, however, after
the naval Limitation treaty shall have
been agreed to, it is likely to operate
as a great naval alliance, whether
intended to do so or not. A nation
on the outside which undertook to
build up a big navy would neces-
sarily have the five powers signatory
to the Limitation treaty to deal with.
That the five which have agreed to
limit their ornaments would look
askance upon the efforts OF another
nation to build big navy goes with
out saying. 1t seems clear that in
such an event a meeting of the five
powers would be held, and a naval
ratio for the outside power would
come up for discussion, and probably
that nation would be asked to par
ticipate in the consideration of the
matter.
But 50 far as the naval treaty's
acting as an alliance in the event Of
one Of it's members becoming in
yolved in a war, there is nothing
in the proposed treaty, it is said,