Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-02
Hating Work at Singapore
Seen as Move Toward Peace

Significance is seen by many in the
action of Great Britain in curtailing
work on her giant naval base at Singa-
pore. 1t Is felt to be a genuine peace
move, considering the importance to
Britain of that port in the Far East, and
is associated in many minds with Amer
icas reduction of its cruiser program.
Britain has made what seems to be
sincere effort to promote interna-
tional good will and keep the spirit of
the day, in reducing ornaments" says
the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. "by
slowing up construction of new works at
her naval base at Singapore. The COM
bative power of the British fleet would
be greatly increased by the new base at
Singapore, especially as affects the
Orient and Australian waters. Com
pletion of that base, according to the
original specifications, would give Japan
pretty good cause for complaint and
would certainly supply some fairly good
argument for the claim that the TOXIC
government should increase its naval
strength to 70 per cent of that of the
United States, instead of go per cent as
provided under the terms of the Wash
ington treaty. The Hoover 'yardStick'
seems to have won new prestige through
BritainS suspension of work on several
base; and an enormous tax burden Incl
dent to naval construction has been,
temporarily at least, lifted from the
shoulders of the people of several ma
tons"
The decision of the Labor govern
ment to retard construction on the
Singapore base" according to the New
York Herald Tribune, lis in keeping
with that party's tradition. The project
to construct a flrSt-claSS base for the
British fleet in the Far EaSt-Where
none had existed h9retofore-waS
launched in 1921, partly in response to
result of the abrogation of the Anglo
Japanese alliance at Washington and
partly to establish equilibrium with
the United States base at Pearl Harbor
in the Hawaiian Islands. The
naval base is directly acorsS the island
from the city. 1t is clearing in the
jungle and lies on the narrow Strait of
Johore, which separates the island from
the mainland of the Malay Peninsula
and Is scarcely a mile wide. 1t is so
shallow that extensive dredging opera
tionS will be necessary before a ship
of considerable size can enter. In 1923
the House of Commons voted SIS, 000.-
900 for the project, whose total cost is
still undetermined and may in the end
be as much as $l65, 100000. When the
Labor government came into power in
1924 the project was abandoned, to b.
revived when the Baldwin government
returned to office. The news
that construction is going to be re-
tarded is good, because it means that
British taxpayers will have that much
relief, and because it shows the faith
of the Labor government in the sue
cess of the outcome at London in jan
uary"
Ramsay Macdonald has talked
good deal about pace" suggests the
st. Louis Post-Dispatch. land now he
has done something about it. 1t was
announced that work would be discon-
tinued pending the result of the
approaching five.-power conference.
Singapore lies midway between China
and India, and is the most important
port on the Far Eastern trade route.
For this reason the port possesses tre-
mendous strategic value, and the Brit
ish undertook to make 1t the Gibraltar
of the Orient. That they should Vollin-
tarily suspend these plans shows how
earnest the Macdonald government is
in its policies of peace and parity"
The Providence Bulletin quotes an
American authority on the Pacific
region as stating the belief that "a
strengthened Singapore. would be
steadying influence In the Pacific and
will be welcomed not only by England,
but also by Holland and the United
States, which have colonial possessions
within the area of Singapore's useful
ness" The Bulletin argues further:
IF England should ever be called on to
enforce the sanctions of the League of
Nations in the Pacific area, Singapore
VIII be found to be point of extreme
strategic importance. 1t is to be hoped,
OF course, that world progress in che