Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-12
UNION AGAINST u. S. SEEN
In ANCLO-FRENCH PACT
European Solidarity Against American
Proposals in Future Disarmament
Conferences Held Assured.

even Germany will be able 10 employ
this system again.
But for the present the British assent
means that French military strength,
together with French political assocta-
ton with various other European ma
tiorts, will not only be irresistible, but
will constitute a sure basis for French
political supremacy on the continent.
In a word, in return for a general
French acceptance Of British naval
views, Britain has given similar assent
to French military ideas.
Naval Limit Agreement.
On her side, France has agreed that
her own naval establishment shall be
limited according to British notions.
These notions include an acceptance Of
the Washington limitations for capital
ships and airplane carriers and the ex-
tension of limitation by number to two
other classes, the l0,000-ton cruiser and
the submarine OF more than 500 tons.
This means that France has accepted
the British thesis that both these craft
are fighting units In addition, France
agrees that there shall be no limit put
upon small cruisers and Britain con-
cedes a similar status for small SUBJ
marines.
BY the terms of this agreement, when
a new conference is called to discuss
the limitations of ornaments, France
and Britain will stand together against
the United States in defense. first of
the system of CONSUMPTION applied to
armies and secondly in opposition to
the restriction of naval strength in
smaller submarines and cruisers. This
means that in a general conference
Great Britain will be backed by all the
armed European countries in precisely
those contentious which she maintained
at Geneva, thus blocking American
demands.
For at the bottom of our naval con-
tention was the demand that there
should be an equal allotment of cruiser
tonnage TO each power and that each
power could use this tonnage upon the
class of cruiser it wished In practice
this meant that We would build 1o,000-
| ton craft, because these we're suited 70
our needs. But the British in their
turn contended that, since they needed
! many small cruisers, such a method
would compel them to permit us to have
and to hold decisive superiority in the
l0.000-ton category, which they quite
correctly asserted would have given us
a fighting superiority we're our fleets to
be used against each other.
European Solidarity Assured.
Thus the real effect of the new
| Anglo-French agreement is to insure
not merely Anglo-French but European
/ solidarity against American proposals
both as to land and water ornaments
in any future disarmament conference.
/ Our thesis that armies should be lin
I tied by numbers and fleets by tonnage
/ will be met by the European contention
/ that the limit of military strength shall
/ be fixed by the period Of service of all
| the male youth of nations and that lin
| itation of naval ornaments shall be
| determined by the restriction Of tom
/ mage only in those categorieS which are
| described by European definition as
| fighting
Moreover, since the French have now
fixed the period of service for their
conscripts at one year, this is likely TO
serve as the model. And 1t means In
the case of France an annual contin-
gent of 100000, which added TO the
necessary skeleton of professional SOL
diers gives French standing army Of
100000. This is, too. outside of colo
NAL army Of about $50 000 which is
slightly smaller than the similar British
colonial force. Over against this French
strength is to be set the British regular
army OF approximately Iou,OuU. inquire
unchanged since the prewar period. TO
which must be added the air force Of
almost 10000. created since the war.
Underlying this new agreement is the
recognition Of the fact that each nation
must be the Judge of its own require
mentS for self-defenSe. both in the mat
ter of numbers and in the fashion OF
raising its armies, while in the matter
of naval defense the British distinction
between offensive and defensive classes
is accepted and the principle is eStah-
lished that no limit is 70 be placed upon
the latter class. either with respect OF
the small cruiser or the small sub
marine.
Thus at the precise moment when
Great Britain and France have accept
ed Mr.. Kelloggs proposal TO outlaw
war, subject 10 their own reservations.
they have reached an agreement which
inSures cofimon opposition to all Amer
lean poltcs in the matter OF diSarnla-
ment or rather limitation of ornaments
both on land and water The Signifi-
canoe of such paradox cannot be
overlooked. even if it must not be
exaggerated.
tCopyrisht. 1887