Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-08
DECADE Of PEACE
seen BY JAPANESE
Naval Holiday 10 Expected to
Bring Nation Era Of Unprece-
dented Prosperity
TROOPS TO LEAVE SIBERIA
ny the Associated Press

Toxic. Feb. S.---The agreements
reached ut the Washington Conference
| mark the first step toward establish
inent Of n real and lasting peace"
with til" possibility Of abolition Of
armamcnfs. Premier Baron Takahashi
told the House Of Peers yesterday.
THE Imperial Government does not
pretend that the Conference was ni.
unqualified success as viewed from an
Individual standpoint" he said. "1t
does believe with the other Powers that
the present agreements are the frs
step toward realization Of a real and
lasting rcacc. and that such agreements
will grow in the future even into an un.
dcrstand!ng for the total abolition Of
defense cquipments.'
Hughes Proposals Criticized
The Prcmier's utternnce came in re.
ply to an inter, citation by Baron Tosh-
intsu Sakamoto. the first speaker of
thc DAYS session. who characterized the
Hughes proposals for standard limita-
ticn Of navics fagrantly improper. since
they excluded the considerations Of the
individual nations geographical post
tions, and calculated naval strength on
the wrong basis. He criticized also the
Pacific fortitications agreement. and
airplarcs. He further declared that in
his opinion use of airplnnc carriers was
unfair. Baron Snkamoto Is a vice nd
niral and distinguished himself in the
Chino Japanese War.
To these arguments the Premier re-
piled:
"Py no means was It with the view
to consummating national defense that
the treaties were enacted. but to mini
mize the possibilities of warfare in the
future and ensure national development
along more peaceful and productive
lines"
Foreign Minister Uchida followed,
giving assurances regarding evacuation
Of Siberia by japanese troops when
the negotiations at Chita had been COM
pleted and the safety of japanese Ma-
tionals assured.
Cabinet Meets Criticisms
The Premier and his ministers seem
to have been able to meet the criticism
Of the acts Of the japanese delegates
20 the Washington Conference without
trouble. and neither the opposition in
the Dict nor the opposing press has been
able to arouse notable antagonism to
the accomplishments Of the Conference
or to create the desired impression that
Japan had lost prestige at Washington.
Cabinet members and leaders Of the
controlling party appear not to even
have taken the criticisms seriously and
the Diet has been occupied with the
questions of suffrage and the proposed
reduction in the army. At no time have
questions relating to the Conference
been foremost in the discussions.
In commercial circles, so far as can
be observed. only intense satisfaction NJ
the results achieved in Washington pre-
walls. With the prospects of cessation
of the boycotts and propaganda in
China and lesscning Of the antagonism
toward the United States. the com
mercial world has opportunities hitherto
undrcamed Of for industrial and com
mercial development. access to raw ma
terials and improved trade relations.
The consensus Of opinion in both
social and industrial circles is that the
ten year naval holiday will prove n de-
cade of peace and prosperity for Japan.