Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-08
Intense 5-PoWer Rivalry Ex-
peCted Unless France
Yields in Demands.
GREAT BRITAIN LINKS
ARMS WITH ITALY
Failure of Conference May Give
Rise to Friendlier English Feel
ing Toward Germany.
BY CARROLL BINDER.

BY Cable to The Star.
LONDON, England, April 8.-The
Franco Italian naval agreement,
which raised the hopes of peace lovers
| throughout the world, is admitted even
| by the British to be dangerously near
| final breakdown. Unless the French
admiralty yields-and there is not much
reason to expect this-naval rivalry
may burst out intensely and the United
States and Japan, as well as Great
Britain, may lose the laboriously-
achieved limitations and economies of
the London Conference.
The rapprochement between France
and Great Britain, which prospered
during the first days of the mutual re-
sentiment at the Austro-German Gus
toms Union, has withered startlingly
and Great Britain is linking arms with
Italy in stiff resistance to the French
naval demands. Great Britain more
over is showing friendlier eye to Ger
many, whom she momentarily disliked
for the secrecy over the Austrian pact.
Sharp Contrast Shown.
When this correspondent first dis
closed that the French policy was
threatening naval agreement, the Brit
ish deprecated the report and en-
deavored to persuade the correspondents
that the drafting was progressing nor
mally. The Labor governments passion
FrV cT1a ffIl arlTf - h.
for which Foreign Minister Arthur
Henderson, First Lord of the Admiralty
A. v. Alexander and Robert L. Craigie
have striven so hard, sustained them
through many days Of wrangling with
the French.
Now faced with failure and the pos
sibility Of being obliged TO spend large
sums for additional armament to keep
pace with the French, the British
reveal the real situation from their
standpoint, which sharply contrats with
the French presentation.
The London version portrays the
French navalistS as not only seeking
to scrap the preliminary agreement but
booming in advance the Forthcoming
disarmament conference by striving
| for a fleet which in all but capital
| ships would be almost equal TO the
British and in submarines would be
superior. Not even the Labor govern
| ment IS willing to abandon Great Brit
ian's historic naval supremacy in that
| fashion and the admiralty would not
permit any governenmt to do so If it
wished.
See Claim for Free Hand.
The British consider the French de-
| mand nothing less than a claim for a
| free hand for construction in the years
| 1935-1936-the last two years of the
London Naval Treaty. The United
States, Japan. Great Britain and Italy
would thus be restricted by the treaty
terms for six years, while France would
be limited for only four.
Great Britain has fatty notified the
French that it will not entertain such
| a project. There must be six-year
agreement for all or none whatever.
Italy shares this British view.
The British refute the French con-
tentions regarding average vessels with
the allegation that the British fleet will
also comprise large proportion Of over
| placeable gradually by building started
after that date If necessary.
Would Open Escape Clause.
Should the French persist in build
| ing, the British will be free to do like
| wise under the escape clause OF the Lon
| don treaty. But then the United States
and Japan would be free to increase
: their navies proportionately and the
situation would be as inimical to peace
and economy as it was before London,
| save for Anglo American parity
| The government organ, the Herald,
editorially warns Paris that the "agree-
nent must be based on the principle of
applying to France and Italy the limita-
tons already accepted by Great Brit
| ain, America and Japan or it cannot
be signed by Great Britain" And with
out agreement, the Franco Italian po-
litical strife will be resumed.
All of which intensif1es interest In
| the visit of German Chancellor Helm
rich Bruening and Foreign Minister
Julius Curtius to London early in May.
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