Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1922-12-27
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

January found the great powers still
engaged in formulating treaties and
agreements in the Washington confer
ence on ornaments and Pacific ocean
problems, and on February / the dele
gates, in plenary session, adopted the
five-pow err naval limitation treaty with
ali agreement on Pacific Notifications;
passed resolutions declaring the open
door in China, and approved treaty
for the restriction of the use Of poison
gas and submarines in warfare. AT
the same time, Mr.. Balfour announced
that Great Britain would restore Wei
Hai-Wei to China. Three days later
the conference approved a number Of
treaties designed to restore to China
some of her lost liberties and passed
a resolution for the creation of an in
ternational commission to revise the
rules of warfare. On February the
delegates signed all the treaties and
the conference adjourned sine die, and
in four days President Harding sub
mitted the treaties to the senate.
BY the end of March the senate had
ratified all these treaties, as well as
hIesOme question Of American rights
on the island of Yap was settled. Great
Er:tain and Japan also. in the course
If time ratified the conference pactS,
and like the United States, took steps
toward putting intn effect the terms
II tho treaty on naval limitation. But
r~ance. more interested in her own
rvnrhlas connected with the German
.ol""nti"ns and with the developments
- The Year East. delayed action. and
or p~amrlp was followed by several
..,l:.rpr nnt'ons Thus the full effect
: :. ne of the treaties was lost for the
inp he'ng.
~ch:llili1"tion of Europe. economic
- ',ra cial. was the great problem
=, confronted the world and. Of
...r~xt it, solutions depended TO con-
-, -, 10 ext nt on settlement Of the
,T.p,nn Preparations matter. This had
~, Ten reached when the year came
~ :. CLOSE The allied commission, an
,.",ratic' ii bankers committee and
---". * nd vifua!S struggled with the
.~cr-f"n throughout the twelve
~ rhs. hrt il wonll be tedious TO fell
,o"ti.,y maintained that complete en-.
',,r.~,rren1 nf the treaty Of Versailles
.,,',' --,'r Germany and no disastrous
~, Il g resi- nf Europe. although Doc
W.f~th The chancellor, held that
rrrany must and would ultimately
-, rha rplmrations bill. Berlin insist
81 t'at a long moratorium be granted
)! - the payments and that an inter.
;ti"nnl lean TO Germany he arranged.
,.'i.re. depending on the reparations
,nney for reconstruction and continu-
;.flv on the verge of bankruptcy, would
not listen to propositions for the re-
rr1ion of the war bill, and from time
to time made preparations to put into
Effect sanctions against Germany, such
as occupying the Ruhr district and the
national forests in the Rhineland. Al
ways Great Britain objected to this IN
til late in the year, when Bonar Law
had succeeded Lloyd George as prime
minister. Then, at a conference of
the allied premiers in London Bonar
Law gave the French to understand
that, though Britain could not approve
of military measures against Germany,
she would not actively oppose them If
the Germans defaulted in the repara-
tons payments due in January. The
conference adjourned to meet in Paris
on January 2 and Premier Poincare
intimated that he might be satisfied
with milder measures. About this
time it was stated in Washington that
the United States was looking for a
way to help out Europs without en-