The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-03-29
MAURICE WARNS
Of DANCER Of
ARMS RACE
Wild Period of Reduction Is
Followed by Reaction, Says
English General.
BY DAVID M. CHURCH,
international News Service.

LONDON. March 29.-"After a
wild spell of reduction Of arma-
ments, Great Britain has now
started on a policy Of increasing
ornaments, and we are back where
we were before 1914" declares
Major General Sir Frederick Mau-
rice, IN a statement to International
News Service.
I'VE have often been dragged
wilIynilly into Continental wars; we
shall be forced in again, as sure as
fate, unless we help to limit the
danger Of war;" General Maurice
warned.
"The Singapore base, the build.
ing Of the five cruisers, and the in.
crease In the Air Force have
brought the problem Of ornaments
into, the foreground once more,"
General Maurice said.
"A battleship base at Singapore
would bring us into direct naval
competition with Japan.
1.-THE increase in the Air Force
"a solely and wholly due to the
number Of aircraft which France
possesses.
Army Race Is On.
1--WE are, therefore, definitely com.
mitted to rivalry in ornaments
with one power and possibly with
another for have my doubts as to
whether the Singapore scheme is as
dead az it is proclaimed to be.
This year we are having naval
maneuvers by great fleets in the
Mediterranean, which F'renchmen re.
gard as a not too gentle reminder
that their plans for calling in Africa
to redress the balance in Europe Is
dependent for its success upon our
good will.
"A curious position to have
reached in this year Of grace, is it
not? How on earth have we got
there? Certainly not because we
wanted to be in the embarrassing
position of proposing to build naval
bases against our friend, Japan, or
Of actually building aeroplanes
against our friend, France. 1t was
because we would not or could not
look ahead.
AFTER the war we cut down our
ornaments to the very minimum.
We did this without any proper
consideration. of what our commit
ments were and without any con-
sideration Of the ornaments of
other powers.
Learned Danger.
''Then one morning we awoke to
fha fart fhof the Fronn1 cnl1IA howl
London whenever they were likely
to be mad. enough to wish to do so.
So, after a wild spell of reduction
Of ornaments we have now started
on a policy Of increasing ornaments
and are back where we were before
1914.
1--WE stand to gain as much as
any country in Europe by walking
with others and taking our part in
general agreement" General
Maurice said in complaining that
Great Britain has never fully in
dorsed the League of Nations ef-
forts for disarmament.
Our frontiers may not be ex-
posed to invasion, but our towns
are liable to be bombed and our
people to be starveU.
1--WE have often been dragged
willy-nilly into continental wars; we
shall be forced in again, as sure as
fate, unless we help to limit the
danger of war.
ut is far harder now to arrive
at satisfactory agreement upon
ornaments than 1t would have been
II we had supported the conclusion
OF such an. agreement in 1920. But
even now 1t Is not too late to try
The alternative is a competition in
ornaments, which will inevitably be.
come keener and will end where 1t
ended in 1914"