The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-09-29
SEPT. %, 1928
KEEPING UP
With
THE NE WIS
BY LUDWELL DENNY


here and a larger American Navl
are expected to result from th4A
British-F French naval agreement
which the State Department sweep
ingly attacks in identical notes to
London and Paris, made public here
today.
These notes are conceded to bSS
probably the most devastating ever
exchanged between friendly govern
ments in the long postwar dis
armament dispute.
In bald words the United States
says Britain and France have re-
vived "in new and even more OBJ
jectionable form" a so-called naval
limitation plan which is mo limi-
tation at ALL" except to reduce
American ships while leaving British
and French types unlimited.
The United States reminds those
government and the world that in
contrast to this objectionable" dis
criminatory plan repeatedly pun
forward by Great Britain, this
government formally is on recoNK
for as low a tonnage limitation Oh
all classes Of auxiliary ships as an
other governments will accept noV
or in the future.
Advocates of a larger Americana
Navy quite frankly expect the Staten
Departments pointed revelation of
the alleged unfairness of the
secret British French agreement
to facilitate passage by the next
Senate of the seventeen-shi build-(
ing program and to pave the wayt
for the original Wilbur seventy
four-ship program. ~
THESE notes are said to be 4,
4 tended to offset "pacifst" atS
tempts to use the Kellogg outlawry
of war pact to defeat the navy
building program.
Further, the British press which
has been almost unanimous in COM
deming the method, if not the pur4
pose, of the secret London Paris
plan, is counted on to use the Amer
lean note to curtail partially the
British governments future plans
along these Objectionable" lines.
Despite British government state-
ments describing this unpublished
agreement with France as only a
tentative plan for submission to the
Geneva preparatory arms commis-
sion and wholly dependent on Amer-w
lean acceptance, it is pointed outN
here that whatever becomes of the
written agreement London and
Paris in the future will tend in factt
to stand together on naval matters<
Charges in Rome and Berlin hiatt
other reported conditions of the re-
viyed French entente" are
aimed at Germany and Italy as wel1,
as at the United States, are read by
officials here with interest, but with
out comment. 4
That part of the agreement sum
married. by the British note and n q
jected by the State Departmee
proposes to limit 10000 ton cruiser
carrying 8-inch guns and sub
marines over 600 tons, which are Il "a
long cruising type of ships required
by the United States with its Lack
Of naval baLes. Other types Of
cruisers and submarines, which are
those used by Britain and France,
would be unlimited.
n
TN reply the American note says,
4 in part:
Unfortunately, the Franco-Brit-
ish agreement appears to fulfill
none of the conditions which, tod
the American Government, seem vii
tai. 1t leaves unlimited a very larg
class of effective fighting ships, an
this very fact would inevitably lead
to a recrudescence of naval com
petition disastrous to naval econ
omy.
1.-THE limitation (under the Brit
ish-French plan) would be the
imposition of restrictions only oIf
types peculiarly suited to the needs
of the United States. s.
ut is further clearly apparently
that limitation Of this (cruiser) type
only would add enormously to the
comparative offensive power Of a
nation possessing a large merchant
tonnage on which preparation may
be made in times Of peace foJ
mounting six-inch guns,
1.-THE United States would gladly
in conjunction with all the nations
of the world, abolish the submarine
altogether. If, however, submarines
must be continued as instruments OF
naval warfare, it is the belief of the
American Government that thet
should be limited to a REASONABLE
tonnage or number"
The note then repeats the Amer
can proposal at the Geneva threl
power conference for the followi
limitation:
Cruisers-The United States X
Great Britain each from 250,000I
100000 tons, and Japan 100000
10000 tons. Destroyers-Uniy, ~
States and Great Britain from 6Jsf
600 to 10000 tons, and Japan $4,000
to $4,000 tons.
Finally the United States makes
a new friendly gesture to France
and Italy who refuses to attend the
abortive Genevt conference, by stat
ing it's willingness ito take into con-
sideration in any conference the
special needs of France, Italy or
any other naval power for the par-
ticular class of vessels deemed by
them most suitable for their pur-
pose"