Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-06-24
j. ). REJECTS
BRITISH PLAN
Of D|SARM|NG1
American Delegates Adhere
To Disarmament Plan
Of President
ISSUES CLOUDED
Great Britain Would Re-
open Washington Naval
Treaty in Entirety

GENEVA, Switzerland, June % up
: Gceat Britain has utterly Iailed
UP to the present to win over tue
United States to her proposal to
reopen and lediscusS the Washing
ton naval treaty at the Geneva tri-
partite conference. In continuing
her efforts in that direction Great
Britain brought forward one OF the
:nojt skilled and experienced diplc-
mats in the British empire, Lord
Cecil, who laid before Efugh S. Glib.
son, naId OF the American delega-
tion, today the great dcsirability OF
reducing the size OF battleshipS, air.
craft carriers, and cruisers. which
was definitely fixed at the Washing
ton parley. Lord Cecil put stress
On this from the standpoint OF
economy and practical expediency.
Asked tonight during a press con-
ference about the view of the Amer
ican delegation on the reopening of
the decision taken at Washington.
Ambassador Gibson replied that after
all, President Coolidge had convoked
the conference fol the very clear
and explicit purpose OF extending
the principles OF the Washington
treaty to auxiliary warcraft, and that
while this did not exclude other
questions from consideration, he be-
IieVed that the time to discuss sucn
questions was in 1881, as provided i'll
the treaty itseIf-a conference Wi1icn
viii ce held before any replacements
of Warships begin.
'sNNn mora Y1rNfifon!
tr2te on the questions raised by the
Washington treaty he said. When
all five parties obligated to take 15
up arc there"
INQUIRY was made it there would
not be some disillltsionment ii the
Geneva conference did not take up
the problem of reducing the size OF
battlcships, to which Mr.. Gibson Te-
piled there could be no dislliusion-
nlent for not taking up thrg Tor
which the conference had net been
convened.
The british spokesman informed
The Associated Press correspondent
that the British were convinced that
reduction in the size ot Warships
would not only mean economy to
the taxpayers, but would be real
step toward oUtlaWing wars. HE IN
sisted that Great Britain was ju&sl-
fled in reopening the Washington
decisions at Geneva, by the very
text or Great Britain's acceptarlce
of President Coolidge's invitation,
when it declared that it was pre-
pared to consider tc what exteno
the principles adopted at Washing
ten cen be carried further either
regarding the ratio in different class
es Of ships between various powers.
or in any other important ways
The British spokesman MADE it
clear chat the British idea is that
eacn power represented at the pres
c11t conference should justify to
another whatever requests are mace
for tonnage in the various classes
OF warships. He doubted exceedingly
whether the United States couiu
prove Americas necessity Tor hav-
ing as many cruisers as Great Brit
ain, as, for instance, to protect trade
routes, because it was generally recog
nlZed the fact that the Japanese
have sometimes to voyage atar to
transport merchandise and acquire
raw material.
In the meantime difficulties, which
may still not be ;nsuperable, have
arisen over flxation OF the PROPOSE
ton OF auxiliary war craft tor Japan
and the United States. There arc
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