Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-01-10
Armament Pact
Nearly Ready for
Powers to SIGN

L
Only details of technical phraseology
remain to be worked out before the
treaty for limitation OF armament is
ready for signature by the pleni-
potentiaries, of'the five great powers
Passing today on its last question
Of policy. the armament committee
of the Washington conference de-
cided against any present attempt to
limit or regulate aerial warfare and
voted to refer the problem to a. be-
batting committee for further study.
Then each of the five delegations,
meeting separately, began an exam
ination Of the tentative treaty draft
proposed by the sub committee of
experts. The delegation heads are
to come together late tomorrow to
compare opinions and it is said that
the complete text will be ready for
publication to the world at a plenary
session of the conference on Thurs
day or Friday.
Questions of definition. particular
~ with reference to the status are
understood to be the chief concern
of the delegates in their effort to
'S''c VII u WI uibS dStNPtutiC W
every one. Some features of the
merchant ship problem already have
been cleared away, however. and
there IS no indication that a pro-
longed discussion will result.
With the armament end of the
conference approaching final de-
plention, the delegates are preparing
to press the Far Eastern discussions
also 10 an early conclusion. The
Shantung question still is in dead
lock, but fresh hope of settlement
was aroused tonight when it became
apparent that the negotiations on
that subject were turning into new
channels. The other sremaining ele-
ments of discord in the Far East are
rot generally considered of a char
acter to lead to extended debate.
Some delegates took so optimistic
a view of the outlook that they were
planning a plenary session for Sun
day or Monday for completion of the
Far Eastern treaty. Arthur J. Bal
four. head of the British delegation.
made definite plans to sail for home
on Tuesday of next week, and his
it was entirely likely that he would
sign the Far Eastern agreement be-
fore his departure.
On the other hand. it became APP
parent tonight that the study of the
naval treaty by individual delega-
tions was promising to consume more
time than originally had been allot-
ted for it. The first plan was for a
meeting of the delegation heads at
10 A. II. tomorrow to be followed an
hour later by a session of the full
naval committee for discussion of
the text. Late today. however. after
the delegates had been working over
questions of phraseology for several
hours, it was decided to suspend
plans for tomorrow's committee
meeting and to hold the meeting of
heads of delegations late tomorrow
afternoon.
The merchant ship question. as
treated in the subcommittee draft OF
the treaty would be settled by limit
ing the armament Of merchantmen to
six-inch guns and by prohibiting the
conversion of any Commercial vessel
of more than 10000 tons into naval
auxiliary. There was. general eE-
pectation that these provisions would
be finally accepted although in some
quarters there still was hope that
arming of merchantmen would be
even further restricted in view of the
prohibition against using submarines
as commerce destroyerG
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merchant shipping to the general naval
question was discussed from a new
anglia as a result of suggestion by
Homer l.. Ferguson. head Of the New
port News Shipbuilding Dry Docks
Co, that the arms conference agree on
an ALLEGATION of shipping facilities and
The proposal was laid
before President Harding at a White
House conference attended by Mr.. Fer
guson, Chairman Lasker of the ship
ping board and Chairman Jones Of the
Senate commerce committee. but there
appeared no immediate prospect that
il would receive administration ap
prevail. Z
Another question said to remain un-
in the tentative draf; of the
treaty related to the building of war
ships within the jurisdiction of the
signatory powers bu. for the use oi
outside nations. Several alternative
workings Of that section are under
stood TO have been prepared. One
would restrict such building within
the individual tonnage limits prescrib
ed for like.ships of the signatory pow
crs while another would prohibit for
eign account" construction entirely.
Proponents of the absolute prohi-
bition against such construction are!
taking the position that their plan
would be another and valuable lini-
tation on the building of navies. since
many OF he smaller nations could not
AFFORD to install extensive shipyards
of their own. On the other hand. it
is argued that prohibition might en-
shipyard development among
the nations that now are lesser naval
powers, at the same time that it de-
prived the big five" of the control
they otherwise would have over the
size Of warships built for foreign
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