Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-14

OO6 H1CoCAG ASICCIuCAt wall NC
SAL, TOO tons, q reduction Of 48,300 tons.
Japan has agreed to q reduction Of H.
ESQ., In addition to this reduction, Great
Britain has agreed to scrap Immediately
1873, 300 tons Of her battleship feet. We
are to scrap Immediately SO 300 tons Of
our battlesh1p feet and Japan 26,330
tons. II you add the total difference for
the three fleets Of these three nations
between the Geneva proposals and our
present agreement, there Is an aggre::
gate reduction Of $4,000 tons. And
average ships which were to be retained
under the Geneva proposal.
THE other comparison which sug-
gest Is between the three fleets as they
stand today, including ships built and
building and appropriated for, and the
same three fleets as they will stand in
1896 under our agreement. Taking these
three fleets together. there will be nine
5sttilsshipS strapped and not sao replaced
Their numbers are the same as the
numbers Of Japan's total feet Of bat
tleships under the treaty.
Next there will be reduction Of
205,o tons in the destroyers Of the
three powers. That amounts to nearly
40 per cent more destroyer tonnage than
will remain In any Of the three fleets
in 1885.
Reduction in Submarines.
There will be q reduction Of $1,000
tons in submarines, and that is nearly
10000 tons more than will be allowed to
any Of three countries in 1895.
I'm American cruisers there will be
an actual increase under the new agree
ment. But this is due solely to the
fact that we have been idle in cruiser
building for nearly 10 years and now
ind ourselves with less than a quarter
| which we should have In respect to the
rest Of our feet. Therefore, in order
to create a smaller but better balanced
fleet than we now have and to achieve
parity with Great Britain it is neces-
Sary for US to increase our cruiser
tonnage. This increase Is comparative
ly small, because the British have
agreed not to increase the number of
cruisers in order to meet us, and for
that same purpose the Japanese have
agreed not ito increase the number Of
their cruisers. As a result the total
net reductions in the three fleets built,
building and appropriated for Is in the
neighborhood OF 100000 tons. That
reduction alone is greater than the
total present italian feet.
Thus far have been speaking only
Of fighting ships. There are also, as
you doubtless know, many service ships
in the Navy which are not claSsed as
combatant, but in discussing economy
these ships very properly enter INTO the
picture. In the three fleets Of Great
Britain, Japan and the United States
there are 100000 tons Of these ships
which under our present agreement will
! not be replaced after they are retired
for age. This means ultimately q re-
duction Of 100000 tons and q cor
responding reduction in expenses.
Lowest Level Reached.
reached the lowest level of limitation
that I have ever heard seriously dis
cuSSed before. We have reached a
lower level than any Of us on any dele.
cation felt confident could be attained
| when we came here.
Furthermore, this conference has
achieved certain great moral advan-
tageS. The experience Of our negotia-
tons has made it clear that naval
rivalry between the United States and
Great Britain Is definitely at an end.
frank and cordial and satisfactory than
those we have had with the British
delegation. The same applies to our re-
lationS with the Japanese delegation.
They have shown readiness to join in
the great aims Of the conference which
is beyond praise. The very great i'm
provement in the friendly relations be-
tween the United States and Japan
which followed the Washington Confer
ence will certainly be intensified and
continued by this conference. AS our
naval problems do not reach those Of
France and italy we have not directly
participated In the negotiations Of those
countries, but our contacts with their
delegations have been uniformly friend
ly and we believe that We have con-
tributed to the present spirit Of good
will which makes 1t now seem probable
that they will ultimately agree among
themselves and add the limitation of
their own fleets to our present treaty.
"And now a word about our own dele
cation. It has consisted Of seven dele
gates who have worked together as a
harmonious group. Every decision of
Importance has been discussed by every
member before 1t was taken, and every
such decision has been unanimous. In
technical matters we have had the ad-
vice and assistance Of Admiral Pratt,
the commander-in-chief Of the United
States Fleet, and his very effective as
sistants, and until his departure q few
weeks ago on account Of illness We had
the able help Of Admiral Jones. In
addition to this we have had the adj
vantage Of the wisdom and advice OF
the loyal and capable stan OF the De-
partment of state and the American
embassy In London.
I'VE believe we have successfully &C.
complished the mission with which we