Evening star., 1927-07-17
CHANGE IN BRITISH
GOVERNMENT SEEN
Demands OF "Die Hards" at
Geneva Expected to Be
Opposed at Home.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Kellogg may be the unWlttlnS hiedhS
of Fastening a change OF government
in Great Britain. Continued refusaI
nv the present British government to
ioin in a real limitation of eXpendi
+ures on navies may accelerate the
return 10 power at London OF LABOR
government supported by certain
nacifc Liberal elements. Such gov
ernment. headed probably By lam
saw Macdonald, might meet Mr. Cooi
idca and Mr. Kellogg even more thaH
half way in a common genuine desire
to nut an end to naval extravaganza
and rivalry on the high seas.
This is the calculation that IS en-
raring the attention of high officials
Sare during this week end of keen
anxiety over the great issues aroused
and the great menaces revealed al
Geneva. ,.a,.,.
informed people here find it difficult
IN believe that the cruiser demands OF
the present British government al
Geneva represent the cool ana CAIN
final Judgment of the British people.
state Department authorities whc
have read every line of the con1dentlal
dispatches sent back from our Amerl'
can delegation at Geneva are just rs
much puzzled and bewildered by the
British first lord of the admiralty,
Mr. Bridgeman. as any American prl
vate citizen could possibly be. They
cannot fathom his motives: and no
body here, from top to bottom, can
make out just how he is going to just
ify his policies to the British voters
and taxpayers.
X Financial Aspect Noted.
The financial aspect of the matter
Is particularly noted. The British
constantly say and sincerely feel that
3t is a great burden upon them TO
pay $3.50 900 900 a year on their war
debt to the American Treasury. Mr..
Kellogg f1attered himself that he was
doing something for the British tax
payer when he instructed our Mr..
Gibson at Geneva to propose a low
limit on future cruiser construction.
Yet the British first lord of the
admiralty, Mr.. Bridgeman, arrived at
Geneva with a proposition for 100000
Sons of cruisers for the British En-
pire, and the financial consequences
OF this proposition for the British tax
payer would be as follows:
The British now have $4,000 tons
of cruisers. In order to go up to
100000 tons they would have to build
$4,000 new tons. Each new cruiser
ton costs them some S1.250 in their
shipyards. Therefore. in order to
build 213.000 new cruiser tons they
would have to spend $780, 600
more than a quarter of a billion
on construction expenses alone.
And then would come "upkeep."
New docking facilities. New repair
ing facilities. New annual pay for
new officers and new enlisted men.
And so on. And so on.
Opposition at Home Expected.
It is not thought here that any
such program can ultimately COM
mend itself to the financially distress
ed British electorate.
Even more important, however. is
the total lack of confidence displayed
Dy the present British government in
the International peace agreements to
which j. Ramsay Macdonald and his
great multitude. of followers are de.
voted.
II is pointed out here that Mr.
1rldSeman at Geneva, while refusing
20 scrap any naval vessels, is moraIly
ecrapping the League Of Nations and
yAe Locarno treaties and the four.
pewer Pacific Ocean pact, all of which
are dear to the hearts of British
liberals. t'''i
What nation, it is asked, does Brit.
Under the four-power pact Brit.
1MS possessions and the rights in
the Pacific Ocean are guaranteed NV
tne plighted faith of japan. France
and the United States.
:. Under the Locarno treaties ties of
perpetual fraternity" were establish.
90 oesween Britain, France, Italy. and
Germany. anu
!. U1der the covenant Of the League
o. Nations France and Italy and Ger.
many ana Japan are debarred by spe.
enc promise from committing any act
pire.
Are all these promises, all these
pledges. all these solemn engagements,
now SO worthless that Britain must
nave seventy cruisers to pursue bel.
hgerent raiders upon her commerce?
''Die Hard" Group Blamed.
It is not believed here that the mass
or the British people will ultimately
answer that question in the affirma.
i've 1t Is strongly suspected that in
HdNdl LldtleES the present BRUSH
government has been captured by that
same little group of die hard" reso-
Lutte reactionaries who under Lloyd
George vainly strove to smother the
new emerging Irish Free State in
blood and who now under Mr.. Bald
win are vainly striving to eXtinguish
the British labor movement by re-
pressive legislation such as was re-
pealed by the British Parliament a
century ago.
People are wondering here if the
''die hard" performance at Geneva
may not give the pacifstical Mr.. Mac.
donald his great chance to try to
prove to the British electorate that
the Baldwin government is as reac-
tionary and warlike abroad as it is
at home and that the moment for a
new government has now at length
arrived.
Awaiting that development, which
sooner or later seems bound to come,
Washington cherishes no resentment
against the British nation for any of
the disappointments at Geneva. 1t
credits those disappointments to a few
Britishers who happen TO be tempo.
rarily in power and who are perfectly
honest but perfectly wildly deter.
mined to live still in the age of Lord
Nelson. 1t has absolute confidence in
the high character and thorough good
will of the present British Ambassador,
Sir Esme Howard, and it looks for.
ward with certainty to better under
inc q l.