Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-18
PREPARE NAVAL
/. CONFERENCE BIDS
Reason to Believe Five Pow
ers Will Be Represented
in London.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


Invitations having been prepared to
20 out TO France, Italy and Japan for
the forthcoming naval conference to be
held in London in January, there is
reason to believe that al five powers
will be represented and that long in
advance of the meeting an agreement
will have been reached through diplo-
matte channels.
The success that has attended. the
negotiations between London and
washington have warranted the con-
tinuance Of that policy with respect
to the other powers. When all is said
and done, open diplomacy has many adj
vantages. in the sense of requiring pub
1icity for all agreements actually
reacceed, but it has been found imprac-
Ksse in getting first-rate powers to
make concessions in order to bring
about compromises.
The exact details of what the United
States and Great Britain have tenta-
lively agreed upon between themselves
as a basis for discussion have not been
made public, but will be communicated
in advance to Paris. Rome and TOXIC,
in the hope that the American and
British Ambassadors at all three CAPT.
tails will be able to do in the next three
months what Ambassador Dawes and
Premier Macdonald have done in Lon
don-namely, to canvass the whole
armament problem and exchange sug-
gestions and proposals.
Other Countries Not Committed.
It Is definitely understood already
that whenever the British and Amer1-
can governments have thus far agreed
upon Informally does not commit either
country but Is conditioned upon getting
an understanding with the other three
naval power, and Is, OF course, furtner
conditioned upon ratification by the
British Parliament and the American
Congress. x
Toxic have pointed out that Japan
would ask Great Britain and the United
States to reduce their cruiser ngureS
so as to spare Japan the necessity Oh
new construction.
The most optimistic phase OF the
whole discussion is that all the govern
rnents are definitely interested IN re.
<ucinp rather than increasing naval
armament and that the spirit OF nego-
tiations is Of a give-and-take character,
which coiSd only be sustained unoer
circumstances like those which exist az
present, namely the absence OF mutual
suspicion.
It is probable that the statement
made by Premier Macdonald TO the
effect that Great Britain was not arm
ing against the United States Will De
followed sooner or later by similar
declarations as to the peaceful inten-
tions existing between the United states
and Japan. Public opinion, it Is recog-
nized, will not accept material reouc-
tions in armament unless there is
strong assurance that the lingo spirit
n q
all the naval powers are relying upon
the Kellogg BRAND treaties as having
given that assurance.
Use Anti-War Treaties.
Coincident with the negotiations over
the possible naval treaty, Great Britain
has initiated at Geneva a move to bring
the covenant of the League OF Nations
into closer harmony with the antl-War
pact so that all wars Of aggression may
be truly outlawed. The armament ne
gotiations have revealed an entirely new
slant In SO far as the usefulness oi
both the covenant and the Kellogg treat
les are concerned. Although it is real
lie that the passions of war may easily
be inflamed between two countries, the
effort now is to IocaliZe such theoreti-
cal conflict by making all the rest OF
the world either absolutely neutral or
unanimously opposed to the country
WHICH is dQJuuBSu IALc u6SACSooA' Az
anti-War treaties are being used as a
bulWark nat only against theoretical
war but against implications of war and
the sowing of seeds of friction through
competitive armament. The Labor gov
eminent in Great Britain and the
Hoover administration in Washington
have identical ideas on this subject, ana
under the leadership of Great Britain
and the United States there is proba-
bility of more being accomplished in the
next naval conference than was possible
in 1921, though 1t is well understood
here that but for the steps taken by
PRESIDENT Harding and Secretary Hughes
eight years ago the present movement
would have had to content itself with
a rather limited attempt at armament
reduction.
The significant thing is that instead OF
receding to larger ornaments eight
years have only strengthened the desire
of Great Britain and the United States
to restrict further all naval construc-
ton. The big question is how much OF
this same spirit has overfiowed into
France, Italy and Japan. Indications
are that Japan will come closer to meet
ing the American and British viewpoint
than the other two powers, because the
land armament question is still unset
tied and France and italy both have
much to bargain about on that phase
Of the controversy.
(Copyright, 1920