Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-17
LONDON AND ENVOY
DIFFER ON FARLEY
Foreign Office Says Navy
Limitation Talk viii Be
Delayed Some Time.
BY HAROLD Z. SCARBOROUGH.
n g.

BY Cable to The star.
LONDON, February 16.-"Finis" was
written to one of the most curious
chapters of present-day diplomacy when
the foreign off1ce this afternoon issued
statement ending, ut is unlikely, there
fore, that his majesty's government will
be in position to make any further COM
munication ION the subject OF naval
linitation) for some time
This obviously is In direct contra
diction to the statement attributed to
Sir Esme Howard, British Ambassador
at Washington, that a further effort
before long will be made to reach an
agreement between the principal naval
powers of the world for the limitation
of naval ornaments"
While both Sir Esme Howard and
the foreign office use very general
terms, certainly by no stretch OF the
imagination can before long" be con-
Strued to mean the same as mot for
continuity in ONCE under different gov
ernments prevails in the British diplo-
matte service, 1t has not been the prac-
tice hitherto for his majesty's am
bassadors to predict what will be the
course of future governments-about
whose political leanings not even am
baSsadorS can be deemed to have In
fallible foreknowledge.
Feel Envoy Was Misled.
What prompted this extraordinary
difference of opinion between Sir Esme
Howard and the foreign Office, 1t re-
mains for the future to disclose. 1t is
felt in London, however, that the AM
bassador may have been misled by dis
patches which are understood to have
been cabled from London Thursday
evening that Great Britain was con-
templating another naval conference
which would be approached with the
intention to abolish mathematical
formulate Of parity, and that broad,
sweeping proposals for reduction Of
naval strength would be substituted
That such opinions should have been
formed here is doubly curious, because
made known in London, from a source
which cannot be quoted, but the au-
thority of which is beyond any pos
sible doubt, that In all probability con-
siderable time would elapse before any
fresh conference for limitation of naval
ornaments could usefully be contem-
plated.
That the British government has felt
that the next conference, Ii and when
held, should be approached from O. diff
ferent angle from that at Geneva Is
certainly an accurate statement of the
position. It should not, however, have
needed either such limitations as were
furnished this week, or the foreign Of
nee statement today, to convince any
one in touch with the psychology of
the Baldwin government that no
further serious move toward naval lin1i-
tation would be initiated by this gov
eminent during It's remaining few
months of office.
Dispatches from this bureau during
the last few months have frequently
set forth considerations which made it
almost incredible that this government
should again raise the subject before
MISUNDERSTANDING, what is by no
means certainty, that the next gov
eminent will be Conservative, or that If
Conservative 1t will enjoy any such ma
iortty as the present one This very
fact that the election Is approaching Is
n most cogent reason.
Committed to Interpretation.
Still another Is that this government
has definitely committed itself to an In
depreciation OF parity" which LIS unac-
ceptable to the United States, and
which, however 1t might be altered after
the election, could scarcely be altered
at all by government on the verge of
appealing to the electorate.
More particularly, q changed view
point could not be adopted without the
appearance of disowning the hrst lord
Of the admiralty, w. c. Bridgeman, who
for the past 10 months has been ex-
planning how right and natural was
the gove"uments stand at Geneva in
Summer election, Mr., Bridgeman has
announces his intention OF retiring tom
the House OF Commons, and will prob
ably be given peerage. Mere courtesy
to him would indicate the governments
withholding q reversal or alteration of
Its policy---n one we're contemplated -
until he was translated to serener sur
roundings than the Commons.
Furthermore, there Is to be meeting
of the League Of Nations preliminary
disarmament commission at Geneva
April is. What more natural than that
somebody. when disarmament was be-
ing discussed, should think naval dis
armament worthy of nlention2 Equally,
what more natural than that the Erit-
lsh delegates should stand back and
let somebody else hold the baby" this
time?
More Elastic Outlook Seen.
Finally, there would seem TO be no
particular reason for officials wishing
to speed up any fresh parley on naval
limitations when, from whatever gov
eminent Is in Downing street after
mid-June, more elastic outlook on
naval disarmament might quite reason
ably be expected
All these things stand behind the for
eign office statement, which follows be-
low verbatim:
There has been no change In the
situation since Sir Austen Chamberlain
informed the House of Commons Feb
ruary that his majesty's government
was engaged In q careful examination
Of all questions concerning relations
with America and the naval conditions
of the two countries.
This examination is being diligently
prosecuted. AS soon as 1t is concluded
the first step will be to communicate
its results to the governments of the
dominions and receive and consider
their views. 1t Is unlikely, therefore,
that his majesty,s government will be
In position to make any further COM
mllnicatiOu for some time"