The Washington times., 1930-02-07
MOVE BELIEVED.
STEP TO RUSH
AGREEMENT
(continaed from Page y

snip fleets would take place within
IL months after signing of the
London disarmament treaty, the
statement set forth. It also would
provide for no battleship replace.
ments before q subsequent con
ference in 1885, during which time
ene entire question Of capital ships
would be the subject Of negotia-
lions between the naval powers.
The document also proposes re-
duction Of the total aircraft Car.
fter tonnage of the United States
and Great Britain from $4,000
to about 100, 900, with similar ad.
Justments in the totals OF other
nations.
It also proposes that the
maximum size of aircraft carriers
be reduced from $4,000 to Is, 900,
and their age extended from 20,
to 26 years. Aircraft carriers un-
der 10000 tons would be included
in the total tonnage for this type
Of vessel instead of being classed
with smaller warships.
StimSon's "15-cruiser" program,
however, does not represent
definite agreement between the
United States and Great Britain.
This was made clear today when
the British admiralty lost no time
IN coming forward to point out
supposed discrepancies in C0l>-
mel Stimson's tonnage figures as
well as other items in the state
n1ent which are not entirely to
British liking.
Cruiser Figures Cited
The principal discrepancy
which the admiralty pointed out
concerned the British eight.lnch
gun cruisers York and Execer.
These vessels, the admiralty de-
clared, diSplace only 8.400 tons
each instead of the maximum
10000 as Secretary Stimson's state
ment inferred, thus American
would have an advantage of sew.
eral thousand tons III this class
Of warship.
The admiralty admitted. h wv
ever, that this difference could
be quickly adjusted by addirg
5000 tons to Britain's fleet of
light cruisers.
However, the admiralty man.
aged to find an apparently seri.
GUS obstacle to bringing about
the very backbone of the Stirl-
son program. which is that, in
addition to absolute parity in bat
tleshipS, the United States should
have 18 eight-inch gun cruisers
to Britain's Is.
This obstacle is provided in the
admiralty'S opinion that such an
arrangement makes no provision
for the auxiliary ratio demands
of Japan.
If the United States builds the
fleet of 18 cruisers she asks.
Britain could not possibly grant
Japan the 10 per cent cruiser
ratios nat has been requested
the admiralty pointed out.
The committee Of experts ap-
pointed yesterday met again to-
day at st. James's Palace. and
recorded good progress" on gen.
eral questions. They will meet
again tomorrow. Secretary Stin-
son conferred with Timothy
Smiddy, Irish Free State delegate
j and Premier Macdonald during
the day. and planned to leave
this evening to spend the week
end at his country place in Mid
dlesex with Ambassador Hugh
Gibson.
Premier Macdonald will spend
the weekend at his country place
at Chequers. He will entertain
the Italian delegation there to-
morrow for lunch, and will have
as his eea guests some 80 naval
experts and their wives.
Action JOltS Conference
Despite the British objections
Secretary of State Stimson's sur
prise action in laying all of
Americas cards face up on the
table was generally viewed today
as a decided jolt in the right direc-
ton for the London Naval Arms
Conference.
It was interpreted as showing
the determination of the Ameri-
can delegates to set the pace in
the continued negotiations be-
cause they regard the tempo of
Premier Andre Tardieu of France,
I'D until now the pace-setter for
the conference, unnecessarily
slow.
Stimson's revelation of the
United States naval program,
which provides for full naval
parity with Great Britain as soon
as possible, undoubtedly was
prompted by a desire to get the
conference down to brass tacks
and speed up the settlement of
purely theoretical questions with
which the conference has been
almost exclusively concerned up
until now.