The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-01-27
The Meaning of the Naval
Conference in London

struggle between England and the u S. The
Paris correspondent of the Chicago Daily News
in its Dec. 2Sth issue, writes: "This conference
bids fair to be long wrangle mote, "a long
wrangle", just before Hoover's farewell peace"
message to the American delegation to the
conferencel between France on the one hand
and the U. S., and Great Britain supported by
Italy on the other, with Japan strategically
situated as the intermediary Discard the
confusing diplomatic language of the cores
pondent and you will find clearly that the
American governments principal strategy is
to "break up the combinations hostile to its
imperialist plans, and securing allies in its
coming struggles, before all with Great
Britain =.
Clash Becomes More Open,
With the opening of Il conference the more
openly american and British imperialisms
come to a clash, and the capitalist press of
both countries are beginning to mobilize pub
lie opinion for war eventualities. The entire
matter of disarmament is every day begin
ming to be discussed mora openly from the
view point of protecting trade routes, need
OF raw materials and stated less openly
the problem of capturing new markets and
colonies In the centre of this discussion
the rivalries between U. S. and Great Britain
come ever more to the fore. few quota
lions from the Chicago Tribune, brings it out
very clearly.
In the January 18th issue Of the Tribune,
in an editorial under the caption "Vita In
terests", we find the following: "Well, the
facts are that in 1923 our foreign commerce,
exports and imports, was valued at eight billions
of dollars. and it was carried over the high
seas chiefly over twelve main routes, as Capt
Overstreet has recently pointed out in the
New York Times, having total length of co.
900 miles. The chief trade Of Great Britain,
like that of Japan the other leading naval
power, is with nearby continent whereas all
our routets are from 1900 to 10000 miles
long The protection of such routes certainly
calls for a considerable dispersion of our ships,
and in fact, a strategic disposition of the
greatest difficulty considering our lack of
bases"
Or further eyes. conceding this possibility
as a necessary condition of British policy what
of the implication that our interests in ade-
quate naval defense is not matter of vital
interests? We cannot be starved out, but the
paralysis of our commerce would bring about
a catastrophe which no sane nation could clas-
sify as other than a vital interest" The r,a'n
object under discussion here is trade and the
main subject under discussion is Great Britain
This is still more clearly brought out in
London dlspatch, printed IN the January 10th
issue of the Chicago Tribune: with the randi
ly expaa ling foreign trade beginning to con-
stitute measure Of prosperity, with the re-
viving merchant marine, with the increasing
dependence on overseas sources for a supply
of rubber, manganese for steel manufacture
and other necessities. with vital communica-
ton lines encircling the globe, the time has
arrived when protection Of national interests
in distant regions is as vital to America as to
Great Britain"
The Merchant Marine.
In the struggle between Great Britain and
the U. S. for Naval superiority the question
of the Merchant Marine is brought up con-
tnually just few figures will tell the tale.
In 1928 33 percent Of American commerce was
carried on American ships and SO percent Of