Evening star., 1931-12-08

specific allegation In the letter OF
tranSmittal signed by Mr. Hoover's
Committee seems to seek to convey the
impression that we said that the ratios
established by the London Naval
Treaty are effective prior to December
81, 1885,
Imputation Is Denied.
Here again Mr.. Hoovers Committee
imputes to us that we said something
we did not say and then criticized us
for its own misstatement.
What the London Naval Treaty does
is to set up, category by category and
sub-category by sub-category, certain
aggregate tonnage quotas of underage
ships that are the maximum limits not
to be exceeded on December 81, 1886.
Where one or more of the signatory
powers may have present excess in
one or more categories or sub-cate-
gories, they are to scrap down gradu-
ally during the life Of the treaty to the
stipulated quotas. And where they
may be below such quotas, they are
permitted to build up to them, under
certain provisions, but not to exceed
them during the life of the treaty
although there is a provision that the
United States Is not permitted to lay
down its maximum quota Of large-gun
cruisers otherwise than on schedule
that would preclude its completion until
a year or more after the expiration of
the treaty.
"It is pertinent to present program
problems, however, to note that whereas
the overall American -British-Japanese
treaty quotas for underage auxiliaries
are respectively 661 200 tons, 676,7o0
tons and 448, 8,05O tons, the total tonnage
xaf a aYyr
building as of october l, 1881, were
merely 456,050 tons for the United
States, but 597 ,281 tons for the British
and ASS, ,985 tons for the japanese.
Tonnage Ratios Differ.
'"Thus while the treaty quotas are in
the ratio of about 10.0-l02-6.8, the
tonnage ratios for such ships actually
built and building. as OF last october,
were about 10.0-13.l-10.0 And it is
also of timely interest to note in con-
nection with present program problems
that the above tonnage figures show
that whereas in october the United
States had less than 10 per cent of its
treaty quota in underage auxiliaries
built and building, the British had
over 88 per cent of their quota and the
Japanese over 100 per cent Of their
quota built and building.
ITO state such figures and their re-
lationships Is not to allege that the
quotas should be attained before the end
of the treaty at the close of 1936-even
though Senator David A. Reed stated
publicly after an interview with Mr..
Hoover on May 2, 1881, that unless We
build the Navy to treaty limits by 1885,
we will have no standing at the next
naval conference"
Go fott dc 70
deal with Secretary Stimson, who at
tackled the statement relating to the
Hoover Macdonald conference on the
Rapidan, which had appeared in the
Leagues original pamphlet. Mr.. Gardi-
ner turns his guns on Mr. Stinson's
quoted statement that the Senate Com
mittee on Foreign Relations never sat
In executive session" and relies on the
committees own report of hearings on
the London Treaty to show that. 1t sat
in executive session on several occa-
sions, Mr.. Gardiner cites the resolu-
tion introduced by Senator Mcclellan
and later passed, designed to secure
from the President papers relating to
the London Treaty.
Holds Information Refused.
Then Mr.. GARDENERS letter has this
to say Nevertheless, on the day fol-
lowing the passage of the McKellar res
olution, President Hoover, in a mes
sage to the Senate, refused to transmit
to. it the matters requested, alleging
that to do so would be breach of con-
fidence, but at the same time asserting
that therein were no secret agreements
etc.
The letter adds "It seems that when
pre-conference agreements are men
toned by Others the administration is
likely to imply that reference is being
made to secret agreements outside the
text of the London naval treaty, but