Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-29
NAVAL EQUALITY
BETWEEN ENGLAND
AND j. S. FAVORED
ViScount Cecil Approves Par
ity in Both Tonnage of
Ships and Guns.
DISARMAMENT IS HELD
POLITICAL QUESTION
League Committee Is Told Agree
ment Is Possible on Free
Trade Principle.

ny the Associated Press.
LONDON, November 29.-Viscount
Cecil of Chelwood, who was closely as
sociated with Woodrow Wilson in the
formation of the League of Nations
favors parity of the United States Navy
with the British
Speaking before the parliamentary
committee of the League of Nations
Union, Viscount Cecil urged absolute
mathematical equality in both tons and
guns between the two nations. He said
he thought disarmament was treated
overmuch as matter for experts and
too little as a question of large politics.
Acceptance Aid to Britain.
viscount Cecil thought that America
might desire to raise the question of
freedom of the seas. His view was that
acceptance of the principle of freedom
of neutrals to trade with belligerentS
was subject to the old rules of blockade
and would be advantageous to Great
Britain rather than otherwise. Great
Britain, he thought, ought to be pre-
pared to come to terms on that point,
provided America was prepared to. join
in enforcing those principles when they
were accepted.
Viscount Cecil went to Paris in 1919
20 assist in the formation of the League
OF Nations and his close association
with that organization was recognized
in December, 1924, when he received
the first annual award Of the Woodrow
Wilson peace prize of $25,000.
Viscount Cecil was member of the
British delegation to the three-power
naval conference in Geneva in 1927
and shortly after the failure of that
conference he announced his resigna-
ton from his cabinet post, chancellor
of the duchy of Lancaster. At that
time, alluding to the failure of the
Geneva conference, he said:
II think success might have been
achieved without any sacrifice of British
interests. I was out of sympathy with
the instructions received"
At the Geneva conference the United
States delegates desired that limitation
should be on the total tonnage of
cruisers and auxiliary vessels on the
5-5-3 ratio. The British desired that
limitation be put on 10.000-ton cruisers
only, with agreement that smaller
cruisers could be built according to
individual needs.
The first step toward any disarma-
Hent agreement must be an accord
between Great Britain and the United
States, Viscount Cecil said in his
speech. He was unable to see why such
an accord was impossible.
The United States, he continued. Of
fered, or. "as we sometimes put it,
demanded" absolute parity. In his
view it was manifestly In Britain's in
terest to accept that offer or demand
without reserve. He believed that on
the basis of absolute equality in guns
Snd tons a full agreement could still
be reached.
1t was true, Viscount Cecil said, that
the Americans might prefer to base
the agreement on total cruiser tonnage.
whereas, he felt, the more one could
subdivide the classes the more COM
pletely equality could be assured. But
that was not an issue of sufficient
Importance to allow it to wreck agree
nent.
Viscount Cecil said that if, as he
believed, an agreement could be
reached with the United States on this
basis there would be no question
that Japan would fall into line. He
would then be prepared to go some
way to meet the French demand for
limitation by total tonnage, provided
France maintained the offer she had
already made to notify the other pow
ers In advance of any changes in
her naval program.
puTTTEN pT AN VxTAJc crrpp0ur