Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-29
PARIS IS BIG STICK
AT NAVAL FARLEY.
London Believes Success or
Failure Depends Wholly
on French Attitude.
BY A. G. GARDINER.

Oh a. Os OAnDANEhs
~ Radio to The Star.
LONDON, December 2S.-In politi-
cal circles here the conviction pre-
walls that the success or failure of the
coming naval conference depends
mainly on the attitude of France, and
the publication on Friday of the text of
the French governments memorandum
on naval limitation is being closely
scrutinized and discussed in official
quarters.
Except in one particular, the memo
randum follows the trend Of policy in
dicated by the Paris press and by I'M
ofdcial forecasts. The advocacy of
naval limitation by tonnage rather
than by class Is in accord with the
French principle of reliance on sub
marines and smaller craft and indicates
no disposition on the part of the
French government to modify its at
tttude on the submarine issue, in re-
gard to which Great Britain, the United
States and italy have signified their
preparedness for drastic abolition meas
ures.
In this crucial matter the sympathies
Of the conference will be definitely op-
posed to the French, WIN. except for
certain support from Japan, will be
practically isolated in defense of the
submarine as an established instru-
ment Of war.
French Avoid Big Ships.
Significance is attached here to the
entire avoidance of discussion in the
French memorandum of the big ship
question, which bulks so large IN the
Anglo-American considerations of naval
disarmament. This fact emphasizes
the wide disparity in the two views on
naval warfare-the one directed to
commanding the surface of the sea and
the other to operating below the sur
face. The French have gone so far
In the adoption of the latter strategy
that they have ceased the replacement
of big ships authorized under the
washington agreement since 1927.
The intention of the French govern
mert to claim that naval disarmament
must be considered In relation to land
and air ornaments was not unexpected
but the view is held that this course in
PRODUCES an incalculable factor in the
discussions which will seriously perplex
the possibility Of arriving at differences.
With regard to the argument of the
French government that Frances naval
needs are conditioned by the fact that
she has three coasts to defend, it is
pointed out that before the World War,
when the German Navy was in exist
ence and when nothing but gentleman's
understanding existed between France
and England, the defense Of the north
ern and western coasts of France was
left to England, and the French naval
concentration was mainly confined to
the Mediterranean.
No Reason for Alarm.
1t is argued that with the German
Navy destroyed and with such securities
as the covenant of the League of Ma
tons, the Locarno treaty and the KEEL
logg pact in being. France has less rea-
son for nervousness, especially in regard
to her northern and western coasts than
ut any time in history.
The section Of the memorandum
which arouses the most interest is that
relating to the future of the Mediter-
ranean. In recent dispatch this cor
respondent suggested the extension of
the Locarno and Pacific treaty prece-
dents to the Mediterranean problem.
The French government now formally
presents the idea Of q mutual guaran-
tee and non-aggresSion agreement
among the Mediterranean powers, in
Guiding Spain, in addition to those rep
resented at the London conference This
proposal is by much the most original
and hopeful feature of the memoran-
dunn. and opens up possibilities for un-
usual progress.
II such a scheme can be made APP
plicable TO the Mediterranean its extern
sion into other waters is obviously
brought within the range Of practical
politics and the problem of naval dis
armament can be solved by the elinina-
ton Of the necessity Of ornaments.
The suggestion Is made here in more
hopeful quarters that the logical con-
clusion Of the French idea would be an
agreement by the powers to demilitarize
the Mediterranean and follow the ex-
ample so trtumphantly set by the Rush
Bagot agreement between England and
the United States, under which the
Great Lakes have been disarmed for
more than a century
(CopyNight, 1927