The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-11-14
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS
Scripps- Howard Foreign Editor

Scripps- Howard Foreign Editor
If Premier MacDonald's promise
of full naval parity between the
United States and Great Britain is
made good at the London confer
ence, Britain's part in that historic
meeting will be hardly less epochal
than that of America.
The World war left the United
States amply able to dominate the
Seven Seas if it cared to do so. But,
doing what no nation ever had done
before, it turned the opportunity
down All it desired was fair play,
not domination.
Now Great Britain appears to be
on the point of doing similarly un-
heard of thing. Having fought one
of the greatest naval battles of all
time to get control of the seas, and
having retained that control for
centuries at the cost of war after
war, her government today declares
its readiness to accept a new system.
Stand Is Remarkable
In some respects Great Britain's
stand is even more remarkable than
Americas. The American people
never have thought in terms OF
lording it over the oceans, whereas
the British always have been taught
that if they could not control the
sea, they would be lost.
Geography has more or less die
tated British policy. An island
empire lying just off the continent
of Europe, Britain always has had
very powerful potential-and often
avowed-enemies just across the
channel, so, for her, 1t was a case
of maintaining a navy capable or
licking that of any of her neigh
bors, or any likely combination Of
her neighbors, or being licked her.
self.
Thus from the time of Alfred the
Great, down to Ramsay Macdonald.
the British have lived and breathed
the idea which Tennyson put into
words, namely that "the fleet OF
England is her all-in-all."
This was uppermost in the mind
of Queen Elizabeth, and in the
minds of her Raleighs and her
brakes, her Hawkinses and her
Howards when they mothered and
sired the overwhelming fleets which
were to make the little island king
dom the greatest maritime power OF
all time.
Fought for Rule
From the destruction of Philip Of
SPANS Invincible Armada in 1888,
to the scuttling of the German fleet
of Kaiser Wilhelm II, at Scapa
Flow in 1919, Britain retained COM
mand of the seas and went to war
at the drop of the hat the moment
she felt that command threatened.
For upon her sea power she banked
everything she had or ever hoped
to be.
One after another she fought and
sunk the fleets of challenging ma
lions, singly and in coalitions, while
she went on adding colony after
colony to her empire. Navy-built,
this empire was held together by
it's navy, as British industry grew
and fourished and British trade
spread to the four corners Of the
earth.
Only one serious setback was en-
countered in all that time, and that
was at the hands of her American
colonies.
Small wonder, then, that when at
the peace conference of Versailles,
President Wilson preached the sub
ject of freedom Of the SEAS" the
blood of Britain ran cold. A world
in which the British navy was not
mistress was simply unthinkable.
Not Impossible Dream
Nevertheless some such amazing
thing as that now seems about 70
happen. A conference has been
called to meet next January, in
London, to discuss naval limita-
ton on basis of parity between
Britain and America and propor-
tomato strength for Japan, France,
and Italy.
Equality on the high seas, with
the ships of all nations free to carry
on their commerce, alike in war and
peace, subject only to certain simple
rules affecting contrabrand, is not
an impossible dream.
Law may be applied to the law
less ocean, hitherto subject only to
the rule of might, and in this mil
lennium Britain, as well as America.
has promised to play part.
The millennium, however, has not
yet arrived. Far from it. A dozen
towering obstacles must be over
come. But the London conference
proposes to tackle this unheard-of
thing-and We shall see what we