The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-01-11
NAVAL LIMITATIONS
PUT in FINAL FORM
Question of Geographical Scope
Understood to be Chief Point
Remaining Unsettled.

WASHINGTON. Jan. 10.--Except
for details Of the Pacific Notifications
agreement and half dozen lesser
questions Of phraseoiogy. the five
power naval limitation treaty was put
Into final form today at a conference
Of the heads OF the American, British,
Japanese, French and Italian delega-
tons.
The question Of geographical scope
was understood 10 be the chief point
remaining unsettled IN the fortifica-
lions article. which provides for the
maintainence OF a Notifications "sta-
tus quo" in the Pacific. The Japa-
nese were said to have agreed tenta-
lively 10 an American draft of the ar
ticie, but 10 have deferred final action
until they communicated with Toxic.
AS result OF this development and
other time consuming details of final
drafting. some of the delegates pre-
dicted that the fun naval committee
would not be called TO act on the treaty
before Thursday or Friday, and that
lp pienary session to discuss it pub
lfcly would be held until next week.
There was a consequent postponement
or tentative sailing arrangements for
the foreign delegates with indications
that majority believed that the
Washington conference would last
until late in January.
The days discussions, both among
individual delegations and at the
meeting OF the big five are under
stood to have revealed a growing in
ciination to exclude the submarine
and poison gas resolutions from the
naval treaty and make them the SUB
Jcct of a separate agreement. Whether
they viii take the form of another
treaty or viii be attached as an an
mex outside the main body of the five
power pact was not finally decided
but the impression of many delegates
tonight was that they did not prop
erly belong in the same instrument
with the provisions for tonnage limi-
tations
Meanwhile the Shantung negotia-
tions. which for several days have APP
peared to be near the verge of disso-
luton, took a new lease on life. With
out settlement for the present the
central disagreement over return OF
the Tsingtao- Tsinanfu railroad, the
japanese and Chinese 8greed to re-
sumo their separate conversations to-
morrow In an attempt to clear away
other points of difference.
IT was indicated that Secretary
Hughes and Arthur j. Balfour. whose
tender OF good offices have been for
mally accepted by both parties to the
controversy, nevertheless, were work
ing quietly for a settlement. In some
quarters there were suggestions that
President Harding might be asked to
mediate In the railroad dispute. but
it was said Mt the White House that
so far he had received no formal in
vitation to do so.
The five delegation heads came to-
gether to discuss the naval treaty to-
day after each national group had met
separately and completed the detailed
study of the text begun yesterday At
the end Of a fhree-hour session the
big five" adjourned to meet again to-
morrow morning, in agreement so far
as policy was concerned on all the
provisions except article 10, relating
10 the Pacific Notifications. A lsalf
dozen other articles. 1t was said, re-
NAMED to be finally cast into legal
phraseology, but none of these seemed
TO present any considerable Difficult
ties.