Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-25
Abandon Move in Face of
Firm American and Japa-
nese Opposition.
STUDY OF TECHNICAL
QUESTIONS is BEGUN
United States Scrapped Greatest
Tonnage at Washington Confer
Snue, Gibson Replies to Britain.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.
BY Cable to The Star and Chicago Dali!
News. Copyright. 1927.


News. Copyright, 1927.
GENEVA, June 25.-The trf-powei
naval armament conference got dowr
to business today under conditions
which, over a period Of several weeks
of close technical study, promise ar
ultima e successful outcome.
The negotiations opened badly, ow
ing to the anomalous nature of the
British plan which, under pretext OF
general economy, really gave Great
Britain a tremendous advantage over
the United States both in capital
ships and cruisers.
Feeling on both sides now has quiet.
ed down somewhat, and the disposi'
tion to look more sympathetically on
all viewpoints is beginning to prevail.
The British, who have received re-
ports from the British embassy at
Washington, seem greatly hurt at the
unanimity with which the American
press has been criticizing the British
aims here. In any case, their whole
tone has changed, and the conference
consequently has been enabled to pro-
ceed along the lines indicated in Presi-
dent Coolidge's invitation.
Drop Reopening Treaty.
In the face of firm American and
Japanese opposition, the British desire
to reopen here questions which We're
settled at the Washington confer
ence concerning capital ships, tonnage
and replacement has been discreetly
dropped. Out of courtesy to the Brit
S~1. To a nd oY@fn n
DELEGATIONS have agreed to TASK new
instructions" on this point, but this
undoubtedly means the question will
simply dwindle out of sight.
All three powers agree on safe
guard clause abrogating the agree
ment in case any non-signatory power
builds beyond certain tonnage in the
various categories. The Japanese and
British both object to discussing
limitation on the basis of a 5-5S ratio.
They prefer the basis of alleged needs.
The United States agrees there is a
minimum need for each power, under
which it cannot go. but insists that
above this need naval power shall be
relative.
Since Great Britain and Japan dis
like the word ratio" the Americans
are willing to discard it temporarily
and talk in terms of tonnage figures.
At the same time they reiterate in the
most distinct terms that the United
States cannot accept tonnage in
feriority to Great Britain's in any
class of ships.
Expect $50 Ratio.
AS for the japanese. America again
is making a demonstration, already
elaborated at Washington, to the
effect that in the eastern Pacific the
ratio of three for Japan more than
equals the rate of five for the United
States, owing to the greater distances
American ships have to go and the
inability, because of the long lines of
communications, of putting more than
a quarter of the American cruiser
force into those waters at any given
time.
The feeling is that whatever terms
are used, the tonnages finally agreed
upon will correspond closely to the
5-5-3 ratio. Japan and the United
States are decided to keep 10,000-ton
cruisers with 8-inch guns. Whether
another smaller category Of cruisers,
say 1000 tons with 67inch guns, can
be created to meet British needs is a
matter for technical study. If such
cruisers can be constructed to cover
naval problems, and if the American
relative tonnage in larger cruisers re-
mains undimished, we may find our
selves able to meet the British desires
in this particular.
The question of maximum tonnage
of destroyers is technical one. Amer
lea may be able to accept the British
plan to limit destroyers armament to
5-inch guns. The British and Ameri-
can figures on maximum tonnage of
submarines correspond closely, at
about 1,700 tons. 1t is understood the
japanese will not insist on their plan
Of exempting submarines under 900
tons from limitation.
Thus all points in the conference
now are entering the phase of techni-
cal discussion, and already various
points Of common agreement are dis
cernible.