Evening star., 1922-12-13
House Committee Wants Re-
duction in Submarine and
AirpIane Building.
WOULD REWRITE RULES
OF ARMS CONFERENCE
Bill Suggests Negotiations Be Re-
opened With Four Foreign
Powers.
BY tine Associated Press.

A request that President Harding
seek to broaden the scope Of the
naval limitation agfeement so as TO
include a limitation on construction
OF smaller types of war vessels ana
on military and naval aircraft. is in
cluded in the annual naval bill. a.
reported today by the House appfo-
priations committee
Under the bill. as brought into the
House. the President would be ask.G
TO open negotiations with Great Brir-
ain, France. Italy and Japan for -
agreement which would limit fut,.r-
building of all surface and subInerS
! Bile types of warcraft having a t1l
mage of 10000 or less. and on =
! classes of army and navy aircraf'
Smaller Types Not Limited.
In its report the committee poiqi-
out that the arms conference did a.
limit the number of types Of sna:-
vessels under the l0,6o0-ton linli;;.
ton. and that information had rea,
ed Congress that already largo p:.
grams are planned Of vessels up
the maximum size permitted urr
the agreement, and that rew :.
larger types of subsurface craft ila
begun to put in an appearance.
I'm other words" the report -
tinued. competition is on again
the single direction 10 which the u,
ratified agreement does not eXtc'l'
and if it he allowed 10 90 on vi
checked the purse strings again mus
be relaxed and this government. ii;''
all others. viii be constrained t.
launch upon new program 10 TIA
extent necessary to keep US at leas;
abreast of any of the other powers.
The committee prefacei its recon-
mendation by review of the accom-
plishments of the Washington confer
| ence. declaring that ar enormous
/ burden" of expenditure already had
been removed by the stopping of work
on the larger types of warships, and
! that much good had resulted from
the limitations placed upon gun cali
bers and other building.
Competition Resumed.
1.-The splendid achievements Of tla,
conference the report continued
need not be recited here. Although
the agreement entered into has not
been ratified by all the participating
governments, America lie looking for
ward to that end.
THE conference did not. however
limit the number or types of vessels
i coming up to or under the tcn-thou
sand-ton and eight-gun limits, either
in the way of surface or subsurface
craft. nor did it impose any limita-
tion whatever on aircraft
1T is the committees information
that already large programs are
! planned of vessels up to the maximum
size permitted under the agreement
and that new and larger types of sub
surface craft have begun to put in an
appearance. In other words. competi-
tion is on again in the single direction
to which the unratified agreement does
not extend.
I'm view of the premises. the duty
of the statesmen of the world seems
clear. They owe il TO their respective
peoples to join in new movement 10
put stop at once and for all to the
needless diversion of vast wealth and
energy form The fields of peaceful pur-
suit The committee. therefore. is pro-
posing in this biSl that appropriate
steps be taken with the view TO sup
piementins the epoch-makinc work
which the conference on the limitation
of armament initiated"
No information MAS immediately
available as to the attitude of the P~eSi-
/ dent and his administration advisers
toward the proposal. which was pre-
pared by Representative Kelley. repuh-
lcan. Michigan. head Of the subcommit-
tee that prepared the bill. II Wa
pointed out. however. that an attempt
to lint smaller war craft would carr
forward an unsuccessful effort made by
the American delegation in the Wash
ihgton conference. This effort precip-
itated one of the bitterest debates of the
conferences. the French taking the posi-
tion that their national interests would
be affected seriously hy any curtail-
ment of French submarines or other
auxiliary strength.
Original Proposal.
The original American proposal al
the conference contained a pro
vision which would have limited new
cruisers other than battle cruisers
; hotilla leaders and destroyers and
all other auxiliary surface combat
craft to 5000 tons displacement. fif-
teen knots speed and an armament of
not more than four five-inch guns
The proposal also would have applied
the $3.50" ratio to auxiliary surface
! craft, limitation Of 100000 tons
each being proposed for the United
States and Great Britain and a70.00o
tons for Japan.
AS to submarines. the United States
proposed limitations of aggregate
tonnage of 10000 tons for the United
States and Great Britain and $4,000
tons for Japan. There was no sug
gestion for a Limitation of size of sub
marines in this original American plan.
The effort to limit submarine ton
mage was met by the British delega-
tion with a proposal to prohibit sub
marine construction entirely. and that
evoked a vigorous protest from the
French. The attempt to impose limits
was abandoned finally as hopeless.
So far as the United States Is con-
cerned, the existing ships and those
under construction included only
very limited number of cruisers of
the light type used during the war
to protect commerce and TO screen
battleship formations. The British
navy has. tremendous preponderance
in this respect, and Japan is building
a large number of cruisers, having
recently modified the program to In
crease the size Of number Of these
ships w to the 10000 ton treaty limit