The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-02-13

Leading Article OIL ISNeStld vi JdHudIy 10,
1880.
THE London Conference was formally con-
vened for the purpose of restricting or, as
some participants at the conference assumed,
even for the reduction of naval ornaments.
Needless to say the London Conference has
quite other aims in view. In order to under
stand the real aims of the imperialists it is
appropriate to call to mind the fate of those
proposals for disarmament emanating from
the Soviet Union the only state which is con-
Quoting a consistent and genuine peace poll
cy. 1t is almost two years since the Soviet
Government submitted to the Preparatory
Commission on Disarmament the Draft Con-
vention on immediate, complete and general
disarmament. The naval section of this draft
contained the proposal in the course of one
wear to strike from the lists of all fleets and
to annihilate all armored ships, ships of the
line aircraft carriers and submarines and in
the course of four years all other warships,
including gunboats with a displacement of
more than 5000 tons, further to disband all
ships crews and to prohibit the building of
any further warships.
The adoption of these proposals. which
would have left in force only fleet for po-
lice duties and equipped with very limited
armament, would have at once done away with
the whole burden of naval ornaments and put
an end once and for all to naval rivalry; it
would have removed every danger of a naval
war just as the adoption of the Soviet pro-
posals on the abolition of ornaments and the
destruction of the stores of arms would have
done away with the possibility of wars on
land AS is known the imperialsts who are
least interested in the prevention of future
wars, FASTENED not only to reject the Soviet
draft but the whole idea of general and COM
plete disarmament. In anticipation of this
fact and persisting in its fight for peace, the
Soviet Union brought forward at the 5th ses-
sion of the Preparatory Commission for Dis
armament draft relating to limitation
of ornaments. This time the Soviet govern
ment proposed that all states possessing
fleet with total displacement of over 100000
tons should reduce their fleets by so per cent
(both in regard to the total tonnage and also
the various categories Of warshps), while all
other states should reduce their fleets by 20
per cent. The Soviet Government further pro-
posed to abandon and disarm the aircraft car
riers which are the most aggressive weapons
of naval warfare, to fix 10000 tons as the
highest tonnage of warships; to limit their
ornaments to IL inch guns; to increase the
maximum age of warships of all categories
and prohibit the construction of any further
,warships, except for the purpose of replacing
ships already existing, and to limit the guam
tity of means of destruction munitions and
torpedoes). 1t is impossible to doubt that
these proposals of the Soviet Union for a de-
termined proportional limitation of the exist
ing naval forces were the only real, honest
and immediate means of approaching the prob
lem of limiting naval ornaments, which would
promote the interests of general peace. But
this draft was also rejected by the imperial
lists, who thereby demonstrated that they are
not seeking peace and that all their talk about
limiting naval ornaments is simply mon
strous piece of hypocrisy intended to cover the
intensive growth Of ornaments and the prep
arations for war;
The whole course of preparation Of the con-
ference shows without doubt that this confer
ence will not deal with peace but with war, and
with agreements Which exist in view Of the