Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-08
Dawes al the Peace Bridge

Vice President Dawes sounded a
common-sense note in his discussion
of American-British relations at the
formal opening of the International
Peace Bridge at Buffalo yesterday.
Taking the recent failure of the
Geneva three power naval conference
as his text, Gen. Dawes declared it
was "unthinkable that Great Britain
and the United States, solemnly
pledged to the principle of equality
dn naval strength. will again place
upon their peoples the burden of COM
petitive naval building because tempo
rarily their experts disagree in their
practical Interpretation Of that prin-
ciple.'
Gen. Dawes virtually predicted that
the great work of arms limitation, in
augurated at the Washington confer
ence in 1922, would be carried on. The
Geneva failure was but postpone
ment and an incident in the onward
march of agreement among the naval
powers, he said. This is the sane view
to take. There must be fair terms of
naval limitation as between the United
States, Great Britain and Japan. They
can be found. At the Geneva confer
ence just ended the naval needs of the
three nations were set forth clearly.
Because the British and the Ameri-
cans could not come to terms on the
total cruiser, destroyer and submarine
tonnage, nor on the size and arma-
ment of cruisers, the conference re-
suited in a deadlock. But there is no
good reason why after further study
of the situation an agreement should
not be forthcoming in the future.
After the failure Of the Geneva con-
ference, predictions were made in some
quarters that a race in naval building
would ensue. Such a race could only
come between the United States and
Great Britain and Japan. If the pre-
dictions were, indeed, founded on solid
reasoning, then the race would come
particularly between Great Britain and
the United States, since the Geneva
conference went to smash because
these nations could not agree. But
war between the United States and
Great Britain is unthinkable. 1t is as
far from the thoughts of the peoples
of the two countries as alpha is from
omega. It is. therefore, unthinkable,
too, that two great nations of common
sense peoples should engage In a naval
building race, burdening the peoples
with taxes merely for the sake OF
keeping up appearances. 1t would
be essentially stupid. The Congress OF
the United States will never enter into
such a program of spending. Doubt
less there will be increases in the
naval strength of the United States,
for in recent years the program has
been allowed to lag, and Britain and
Japan today are far ahead OF the
5-5-3 ratio in the matter of cruisers
and new destroyers and submarines.
National defense is not to be neglected.
But a real race in naval construction.
with an orgy of spending, between this
country and Britain, with no purpose
in view, would be mere folly.
The opening Of the great Interna'
tional Peace Bridge, linking the United
States with Canada, the priced domin'
ion Of the British, gives far better
yard measure of the relations between
the two nations than does the failure
Of the Geneva conference. The Vice
President of the United States, taking
the opportunity afforded him, wisely
gave emphasis to this fact yesterday.