New Britain herald., 1927-07-15
FEAR. HOPE LOST
 FOR ARMS FARLEY
Genera Conference Opens With
 Prospects Not Bright

GeheVa, switzerland, July Is R- The American. British and Japanese delegations faced each other today with considerable uncertainty as to how to resume the tasks before them after the frank airing of diff faculties in which the chiefs indulE- ed at yesterdays picturesque but unfruitful plenary session of the naval conference.
 Pessinists refuse to be shaken from the belief that the session marked the beginning of tho end of the conference. while the optimistic are certain that all hope of an agreement has not been lost.
 There is no mistaking the ear- nestness of delegates descire to ef- feet settlement, but whether they will be able to overcome the exist ing divergences Is question on which authoritative observers would not commit themselves. Neverthe- less the majority opinion seemingly veers to the belief that an answer to the cruiser problem must be found soon or the conference will fail. -
 The retort of Hugh s. Gibson. to the speech Of Admiral Viscount Jel- licoe. in which the chief American delegate declared in effect that tho nations must think of peacetime naval conditions and not always of a war situation. is one of tho main points commented on in all confer ence circles. Another is Japan's publicly siding win Great Britain in plea to keep the number of 10000 ton cruisers of the United States and Great Britain down to a lower figure, like ten, with her own figure at seven.
 On this point, the Americans will certainly not fail to remark in the course of future conversations. as they have before, that 10000 ton cruisers are essential to nation not possessing widely scattered re- fueling bases. and that for convoy purposes the need of these big cruis- CTS is imperative.
 Comment has also been aroused by the passage in the speech of the Japaneses delegate, Viscount 1shii, that if limitation treaty be of such a nature as to leave the nations in possession of enormous armaments, the cause of limitation would suffer a serious blow.
 Tt cannot be supposed" he ce- clared. ''that the existence side by side of such tremendous engines of battle would make peace any the more secure"
 The plenary session was solemn. tense gathering as w. C. Bridgeman first lord of the British admiralty. Admiral Jellicoe. Mir. Gibson and Niscount 1shii in calm deliberate tones. outlined the naval views of their countries. ........ :; Mir. Gibson pleaded for an agree ment. saying it was worth more to all concerned than any technical ad- vantage. that mutual confidence and the feeling of security to be derived ! would have more value than any number of guns and ships.
 He gave assurance that If a re- l conciliation were effected between the differing views of Japan and Great Britain, American acceptance would be forthcoming and an agree ment would be possible. Admiral Jellicoe. and Mir. Bridge man. went into lengthy detailed ex- plantations as to why the British Empire required large fleet of small cruisers. The admiral went back to the war period, and recalled operations of German seq raiders to prove his contention that much of the many thousands of miles of communication was open to attack in case of war After referring to his experiences as commander-in- chief. he emphasized that Great Britain must have at least 70 cruisers to protect its lines of com- munications and to keep of raiders should war come again.
 Informal conversations and the taking of inventory of yesterdays session ard its developments were to occupy most Of the delegates to- day.