Evening star., 1925-03-14
NAVAL CUTSF|RST,
IS COOLIDGE PLAN
FOR ARMS PARLEy
President Will Make No SUD-
gestionS for Reduction
of Land Forces.
u. S. WILL TAKE LEAD
IN MAKING SACRIFICES
Japan and France Expected to 0p-
pose Putting Limit on
Sea Power.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
President Coolidge's impending call
for second disarmament conference
VIII propose that it take up naval
Limitation where the Harding Hughes
conference of 1921-1922 left il off. The
Coolidge-KelIogg parley, in effect.
will deal with the unfinished business
of the first Washington conference
America again will take the lead in
making propositions and Offering sac
rtfices. Because the United States
Army and land establishments are al
ready down to the bone, this Govern
ment will submit no suggestions Of a
reduction in military armaments. As
the President puts II, we have nothing
TO lay before other powers in that di-
rection IN which we could ask them
to match our efforts. What the United
States will do at the next conference,
II 1t can be convened, is TO propose:
/. That the naval powers agree, on
lines of the first Washington treaty,
to limit the number and size Of light
cruisers and other surface craft, in
cluding destroyers, for certain num-
Der OF years
?. That submarines be abolished. or.
II they cannot be abolished, that thev
be limited in number. and that rules
for their use in warfare. especially
against merchant vessels, be restrict
ed in the most rigid manner.
). That the Washington treaty pro-
visions limiting the total tonnage and
armament of aircraft carriers be ex-
tended.
Much Tact Needed.
The Coolidge administration will
pursue the same cautious preliminary
tactics regarding a conference that
enabled the Harding administration
to bring about the first meeting. Sew
eral months of the most confidential
| soundings-at the White House they
| are now referred to as "approaches"-
! took place in London, Toxic. Paris
and Rome in the Winter and Spring
i of 1921 before President Harding
moved. On July 10 Secretary Hughes
announced that the President had
| finally made up his mind TO seek a
conference. Then ensued still another
| month of soundings, in order that
agreement might be reached with for
| eign governments about the wording
VI lIlC NdiL. CIi august II the formal
American invitation to the confer
ence was issued. Then there were
! three months of negotiation about
the matters to be discussed at the
conference.
AS there are notoriously serious
difficulties to be overcome before an
other conference can be arranged. it
is certain that as many months of
approaches" will be required as were
| necessary four years ago. Secretary
! Kellogg will await advices from
Hugh S. Gibson, American Minister
to Switzerland. as to definite col
lapse. or otherwise, of the League of
Nations conference project before
making moves of any kind.
The moment the. leagues plan may
be consideted abandoned President
Coolidge and Secretary Kellogg will
make their first approaches" abroad.
These will be informal and confden-
tial. Nothing is likely to leak out
about them until they are on the
verge of finality. Under the best of
, conditions. 1t would be August before
conference could be convened 1t
probably would be October or Novem-
Der. especially if it is decided that
Washington shall be It's scene. Mr..
Coolidge is not determined the con-
ference shall take place in America.
though he considers Washington is
the hest place for it. Europe may ask
for a change of venue from the seat
of the first conference. The United
States would interpose no serious OBJ
lection To such a proposal.
Opposition Expected.
France and Japan are considered to
be the countries from which real OBJ
stacles to the holding of another con-
ference may be raised. Neither %
those governments is opposed, in
principle, to a conference. But both
are determined not to enter it except
under farther-reaching advance as
surances on certain issues than were
given in 1921. Having turned its
back on a battleship and battle-cruis-
er program for naval defense France
now relies entirely on destroyers,
submarines and aircraft The French
contend that with a powerful aux
Hilary craft" navy of such weapons
they always can command the re-
spect of Great Britain. The French
also maintain that they always must
have powerful destroyer. submarine
and air forces to safeguard the Medi-
terranean lines of communication
with their African dominions, upon
which they must in future rely more
than ever for raw materials and for
native trops.
japanese newspapers received in
Washington during the past day or
two show that Nippon is actively dis
cussing the possibility of another
disarmament conference. But it is
plain the Japanese will come to such
a conference with some irreducible
demands. The tone of their leading
journals indicates that the Singapore
base which Great Britain is building
has become as much of a thorn in
the Japanese side as Americas ex-
clusion of Japanese immigration is.
The Mikado's government, through
Admiral Takarabe, has announced
that "the preparation for u second
conference must be made with much
greater caution than was done
the occasion of the first conference"
Admiral Takarabe says that unless
there are guarantees against dis
appointments" such as ensued after
the Washington parley, IAN evil at
mosphere will necessarily develop
that will certainly go far toward de-
stroying the beneficial effects of the
first parley." The Japanese press in
terprets guarantees against disap-
pointments" to mean some sort of
satisfaction to Japan for Singapore
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