Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01
TREATY DATA SENT
SENATE IN SECRECY
Action on Hoover Macdonald
Correspondence Is Held
Move to Bar Use in Fight.

Senate committee on foreign relations
yesterday parsphrased copies Of the
Hoover Macdonald cable correspondence
leading TO the London naval treaty. but
virtually with an injunction Of secrecy.
The circumstances under which the
copies were produced were taken 10
preclude their use by Senator Hiram
johnson. Republican, Of California,
leader Of the treaty opposition, to show.
If they do 80 show. that the United
States and Great Britain were in full
agreement as between themselves before
the Naval Conference opened and the
negotiations begun with Japan, France
and Italy.
Senator William Z. Borah, chairman
OF the committee. said he considered
the correspondence executive BUSH
ness" which the committee had no right
to make public. Although the COM
mittee as whole will not begin study
Of the documents before tomorrow Sem
ator johnson indicated that he would
not object.
In general, however, these two Sen.
ators who stood together in the strug-
gle to keep America out Of the League
OF Nations, have little in common in
the controversy over the pending naval
limitations treaty.
Opposition Is Organized.
While Senator Borah proceeded yes
terday with plans to expedite ratifl-
cation Senator johnson and Senator
eederick Hale. Republican, of Maine,
irman OF the Senate committee on
val affairs, were busy organizing the
position.
Their present plan Is TO propose no
reservations, but to take the position
that the treaty fundamentally is un-
fair to the United States and there
fore cannot be corrected by amend
ments. In this contention they were
Kenneth Mcclellan, Democrat, of Ten
nessee, declaring that the treaty failed
to fulfill the four central detectives
outlined by President Hoover and J.
Ramsay Macdonald, prime minister of
Great Britain" after their conversation
last Autumn in the presidential camp
on the Rapidan. -
Senator johnson maintains that the
naval general boards 'irTeducible min
mum" recommendation Of 81 biz
cruisers already had been cut to the
10 which the treaty provides, when
the Hoover Macdonald joint statement
calling among other things for parity
was issued.
Attack Centers on This Point.
It is on this point that the oppoSi-
ton expects to center its attack on the
treaty, 1t is said. SO far, the opposition
shows only a slight semhlance of or
ganized effort and, according to .Sena-
tor Watson, Republican leader of the
Senate, it embraces no more than
dozen members, but in the past week
1t has adopted a fighting spirit. Cers
tain of the leaders who privately con-
coded defeat last Saturday, after Pres
ident Hoover had forced the ratiflcas
ton issue by serving notice that he
would call special session for treaty
poned q vote, now refuse to admit that
there Is no chance to defeat the pact.
They contend that the movement to
defeat ratification of the League Cove
nant seemed almost hopeless In its
early stages. One reason for the dis.
appearance Of the defeatist spirit, 1t
| Is believed, IS the return OF Senator
George H. Moses, Republican, Of New
Hampshire, from abroad. Treaty critics.
| for reasons not stated, declare that
Senator Moses, leader of the So
called isolationist group, will line up
against the treaty, although the: Sen
ator has yet to commit himself for or
against the pact.
Cruiser Defects" Are Corrected.
In the controversy over the relative
merits OF 8-inch and 6-inch gun cruH-
ers it was brought out today that Navy
designers have succeeded In correcting
the "glaring" defects in the big-gun
cruiser designs without cutting down
their speed or battery.
Rear Admiral n. z. Yarnell, chief OF
the Bureau of Engineering, in memo
randum filed with the foreign relations
committee on Thursday, indicated that
the lack OF what Is called correspond
ing protection" in this type never could
be wholly overcome without cutting
down the speed from around 80 TO 28
knots or the battery. or both.
With corresponding protection" Q
cruiser has armor thick enough to stop
projectiles from guns like those In It's
own batteries. It Is not claimed that
the changes In designs will provide cor
responding protection, but that they will
be better able to stand the IRE Of
6-inch gun projectiles.
Rear Admiral William " Pratt, COM
mander of the United States feet. is
authority for the statement that the
'tin-plate" arInor on the first eight Of
the American 8-inchers, only three of
which are in commission, left them
McKeIIar's Statement.
Senator McKellar's statement follows:
When President Hoover and Pre-
nnier Macdonald were at Rapidan, they
published to the world that the two
countries had agreed:
81. That there would be a limit on
naval arms.
40. That there would be a reduction
Of arms.
"3. That there would be an enor-
nous savings to the American taxpayers
and to the taxpayers of other countries.
q. That there would be parity
heaped up and flowing over.
"The report Of the conference has
come and not one of these four great
detectives has been accomplished.
There has been no limitation Of
arms at all, except the United States
has been prohibited, If the agreement
goes into effect, from building the kind
OF cruisers that her experts say are
necessary for her defense.
There has been no reduction of
naval arms, but on the contrary, there
VIII be vast increase Of naval arms
after the pact Is approved.
instead OF there being savings, the
lowest estimate of additional cost to
the American people is over a billion
dollars. When we think of the Grundy
CarM Dill, taxing the American people
billion dollars additional, and the
London naval pact taxing them another
billion dollars, we can understand what
the Rapidan promises mean.
Instead Of there being parity, to the
layman 1t looks as If this treaty will
very greatly accentuate the disparity
that now exists. II will be extremely
doubtful whether we will have Navy
tereSts."