Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-22
DRASTIC NAVAL
| CUT PLAN URGED
Gibson Proposes Reductions
Based on Friendship
of Nations.
Continued From First Page. J

departing from his set speech to refer
to the hopeful" statement Of Lord
Cushendun, British delegate, last week.
Points Out Essentials.
IT desire to lay emphasis on the fact, "
he said, that for us the essential thing
is achievement of substantial results.
Methods are of secondary Importance.
My Government is disposed to give
full and friendly consideration to any
supplementary methods of limitation
which may be calculated to make our
proposals-the French thesis or any
other-acceptable to other powers. II
such course appears desirable my Gov
eminent will be prepared to give con-
sideration to a method OF estimating
equivalent naval values which will take
account of other factors than displace-
ment tonnage alone.
In order to arrive at basis Of COM
pariSon in the case of categories in
which there are marked variations as to
unit characteristics, it might be desir-
able in arriving at formula for esti-
mating equivalent tonnage to consider
certain factors which produce these va
riations, such as age, unit Of diSplace-
ment and caliber of guns.
World Changes Noted.
Mr.. Gibson asked the conference to
bear in mind recent world changes, and
he pointed out that most Of the nations
had bound themselves by solemn under
taking to renounce war as an instrument
of national policy. After making this
allusion to the Kellogg pact, he said:
We believe that this agreement
affirming humanity's will to peace will
advance the cause of disarmament by re-
moving doubts and fears which. in the
past, have constituted our principal OBJ
stacle. Recently it has been my privilege
to discuss the general problem of disor-
mant at considerable length with Presi-
dent Hoover. who has always been an
ardent advocate of peace and good
understanding.
am in a position to realize how
earnestly he feels that the pact for re-
nunciation of war opens to us UMPIRE
cedented opportunity for advancing the
cause of disarmament an opportunity
which admits of no poStponement.
Mr.. Gibson expressed his conviction
that as long as the world approached
the problem of disarmament upon the
basis Of old fears and old suspicious
there remained little hope Of results.
spirit OF Peace Pact.
If we are honest, if the solemn prom
Use of our past means anything, there is
no justification for continuation of q
war-taxed peace.
Great ornaments are but the relic
OF another age, but they will remain a
necessary relic until the present dead
lock is broken and that can be accom-
plished only by a decision of the pow
erS possessing the greatest ornaments
to initiate measures of reduction"
He recalled that at the tripartite
conference at Geneva he had announced
American readiness to agree to a plan
OF limitation at still lower levels which
would maintain the relative status of
existing treaties with respect to powers
represented at that conference.
This is still the attitude of my Gov
ernment," he declared. I'VE are willing
to agree to any reduction, however
drastic, Of naval tonnage which leaves
no type of war vessel unrestricted"
Land Forces Mentioned.
Mr.. Gibson declared America would
defer to countries primarily interested
in land ornaments with such measures
Of concession as he trusted would facili-
tate agreement among them, remark
ing that for the United States, how
ever, the question of defense primarily
was naval problem. He said the
country had never found reason to
modify his views that the simplest,
fairest, most practical method Of limi-
tation is by categories.
Mr.. Gibson then detailed a number
of the arguments for disarmament, such
as burdensome costs, productive
employment, and the like.
In closing he declared the United
States is convinced she needs no exact
balance Of ships and guns which can
be based only on the idea of conflict
and that what really was wanted was
a common sense agreement based on
the idea that all nations are going to
be friends and settle their problems
by peaceful means.
MY Government feels that genuine
disarmament will follow only from q
change of attitude toward a use of
force in the settlement of international
disputes" he concluded. Therefore, I
venture to make this appeal, that coun-
tries examine the entire problem afresh
in the hope they will find in general
world conditions and in the solemn
obligation they have taken among them
selves assurance as to their security
and that they will find in this the con-
fidence to enable them to dispense with
ornaments which have hitherto seemed
SO essential"