The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-07-31
KEEPING UP
With
THE NE WIS
BY LUDWELL DENNY

They have not been informed Oh
fcially of the London-Paris under
standing. and expressed surprise to-
day over press reports of Sir Austen
Chamberlain statement to the
House Of Commons.
The British foreign minister is
reported to have announced that
his government and the French had
reached an agreement, presumably
of an informal and tentative nature,
on naval disarmament, which would
be submitted to the other powers
with an eye to another disarna-
ment conference.
Washington has known in a gen.
eral way that London and Paris for
several months have been trying to
get together on their long dispute
over submarines and related naval
questions. But officials here did not
know that an agreement had been
arrived at, or that the British con-
templated a disarmament confer
| ence.
The Administration is described as
! gratified if any two naval powers,
especially France and Great Britain,
have succeeded in finding common
ground on the matter of arms limi-
! tation.
But such agreement, if true, does
not seem to the United States Gov
eminent to be sufficient excuse for
ar other general naval conference
now or in the near future. For sew
ersl reasons:
l. This being a campaign year
Leading to a change Of admin
istration, if not a party control,
next March, President Coolidge
and Secretary of State Kellogg
are not in a position to speak
for the new administration or to
commit it on such a controversial
issue as naval strength. Also a
British general election is eX-
pected next May.
2. Even open preliminary nego-
I tiatlons on disarmament would
inject new issue into the Amer
lean campaign, when neither
Hoover nor Smith apparently de-
sire to make definite pledges
which would lose them either big
navy" or 'pacifist" votes.
3. Failure of the Coolidge &C.
neva naval conference, which
France refused to participate in
officially and which Great Britain
is credited here with wrecking,
still is a very sore spot with both
American admirals and diplomats.
The admirals, for the most part,
argue that another similar con-
ference would be useless, because
Great Britain would decline again
to permit auxiliary and cruiser
parity with the United States. The
diplomats think Anglo American
relations received enough of a jolt
at Geneva to last for some time,
and that the strong popular feel
ing aroused in both countries
should be allowed to die down now
in the interest of a later agree
ment.
4. The Washington naval treaty,
limiting capital ship construction
and fixing a nominal 5-5-3 ratio
as among Great Britain, the
United States and Japan in that
class Of ships, provides for a re-
vision conference in 1881.
With the powers thus already
agreed to another naval confer
ence in 1881, theree would be no
point in a 1928 or 1929 con-
ference.
5. This Government has no
reason to believe that the British
conservative government has
changed its basic policy, which
prevented a Geneva agreement,
and certainly there is no change
in American policy stated at &C.
neva, and none contemplated by
the present chiefs of the State
and Navy Departments.
This Government is opposed to
the British proposal for reducing
the size of future capital ships, es-
pecially because it holds that the
two British dreadnoughts, Rodney
and Nelson, are larger than any
American fighting vessels.
The United States is not content
plating building any capital ships
before 1881, so this dispute can
wait until the conference fixed for
that year.
At the next conference the United
States will attempt, as it attempted
unsuccessfully at the Washington
and Geneva conferences, to induce
Britain to accept the same SIS
parity in auxiliary craft which now
exists nominally in capital ships.
If the London government insists
on refusing to grant this cruiser
equality by treaty then the United
States will try to achieve such
parity by building up to Britains
present superior position.
Meanwhile, as a result of Geneva,
the administration will try to force
through the Senate at the next
session of Congress the naval con-
struction program which the House
last spring cut down from seventy
four to sixteen ships.
/ This disarmament conference talk
from London and Paris is particu-
larly displeasing to some officials
here at this time, because it tends
to emphasize the incompleteness of
the Kellogg anti-war pact, to be
signed in Paris about Aug. %.
These officials feel, in view of
the alleged British responsibility for
failure of naval limitation at
Geneva, and in view of the respon-
sibility Of these and other powers
for the sweeping reservations in the
dnal Kellogg pact, that the admin
! lStratiOn should ha o1Iov,-ol - s