Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-16
Declines to Consider Battle.
ships and Aircraft Car
rierS at Present.
DETERMINED TO CLEAR UP
MESS ONCE AND FOR ALL
Declares Submarine, Cruiser and
Destroyer Must Be Disposed of
Before New Questions.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY Radio to Ths s:--.
LONDON, February 15.-Following
the initiative so effectually seized by the
American delegation 10 days ago, Sec
rotary Stimson has submitted a polite,
but Enthusiastically firm, ultimatum to
the Naval Conference. 1t concerns the
question of battleships and aircraft car
riers.
The Secretary of State has informed
the heads of all the other delegations
that the United States declines TO dis
cuss these types of vessels in any way,
shape or form until the Conference has
tackled and settled the question of
cruisers, destroyers and submarines.
Utimatum Precisely Defined.
The American position on this score
has been laid down with Gibraltar1an
irflexibility 1t has been defined IN
precise detail The United States will
not talk about battleships, either in
formally through conversations among
delegates, advisers and experts, or IN
the shape of confidential talks among
the heads of delegations. The embargo
also extends, of course, to any full dreSs
debate on the subject in plenary SIS
sion of the conference or to so-caueo
committee of the whole.
Stimson's attitude has been elucidated
to his fellow-chiefs of delegations as
due to Americas fierce determination
at this conference to clean up the Whole
naval limitations mess once and Tor all.
The Hoover administration does not
mean by that for all time. But 1t does
mean that it will not consider here any
- liz NJ NTTNF
already limited by treaty BEFORE there
has been an agreement to limit ;ypes
not yet so restricted.
American View Prevails.
The American view will prevail Any
talk about projected battleships ar
rangements will therefore be wholly
academic and without authority, pend
ing solution of the highly acrimonious
questions of cruisers and submarines.
StinsoYl was the more easily able 10
enforce the American viewpoint be-
cause Of the unanimity Of our delega-
tion. They have not seen eye to eye
on every single detail of the multifarious
many-angled propositions which have
perplexed the conference. But on every
occasion Stimson has been able to speak
for truly united group. The strength
of the American position in London
springs largely from this circumstance
All delegations are anxious to come
10 grips with the battleships problem:
This question presents a variety OF
problems. Whether, and how long a
replacement holiday beginning in 1881
shall be, can probably be settled speed
lily. Less speedily can decisions be
reached regarding the reduction size
of battleships. Both Great Britain
and Japan are in a mood to favor
decrease in the maximum tonnage to
$4,000 and a corresponding cut in gun
caliber from Is to IA inches or even
less. The American contention that
the battleship remains the core and
heart of the fleet is not yet abandoned
Nor have we given up the claim that
we need great armored floating fort
resSes because of our lack of naval
bases and proportionate need of pow
erful ships with long cruising radius
The storm over "the American Rod
nsy" per-battleship, which the
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