AMERICANS WANT NEW BATTLESHIP.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18992, 11 February 1930, Page 9

AMERICANS WANT NEW BATTLESHIP.

NAVAL CONFERENCE TO DEAL WITH SUBMARINES.

(United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (Received February 11, noon.) RUGBY, February 10. The Naval Conference promises important developments this week. Mr H. L. Stimson’s statement, as issued on Thursday night, is now understood to be only a summary of the American memorandum which communicated to the delegations, contained other far reaching proposals, especially upon the subject of battelships. This document, together with the British memorandum of proposals, as summarised on Friday, were closely studied by the delegations during the week-end and are likely to be the subject of many conversations during the next few days. Meanwhile a further advance is recorded in the compromise proposals regarding the alternative methods of achieving naval limitation. As the result of week-end studies by experts, who met again this morning, the general question of submarines will be dealt with in the open plenary session to-morrow. Striking facts on the burden of armaments were given by Mr Philip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequor, in a wireless talk which was relayed from London throughout the United States and Canada last night. He said that the hope of the Naval Conference was to reach an agreement which would increase a feeling of security among the nations and that would promise the peoples some relief from armament burdens. The magnitude of these burdens was not sufficiently appreciated by those who bore them. The world expenditure on armaments, he said, is £900,000,000, of which 60 per cent is expended by European countries, 20 per cent by the United States, and 20 per cent by the rest of the world. The annual cost of armaments, however, was but a small part of the burden which the nations have to bear as the result of this policy of relying upon force for national security. Armaments were a provocation to war and maintained a war mind, yet war never settled anything. It was only a game from which both sides rose as losers. It passed the power of the most imaginative to conceive what prosperity and happiness could be added to the world if its efforts and resources, now so largely wasted in barbarous and inhuman obsession of war, could be diverted to the advancement of human welfare.

Japanese Speech. The chief Japanese delegate to the Naval Conference, Mr Wakatsuki, spoke to the people of Japan yesterday afternoon by Marconi beam telephony from the Imperial and International Communications Marconi beam station at Dorchester, his speech being relayed throughout Japan by means of the Japanese Broadcasting Company’s stations.

In the course of his speech, he said that he believed that the conference would result in the great task of naval limitation being accomplished, increasing thereby mutual goodwill and concord among the Powers and contributing materially to the advancement of the fraternity of mankind. “The Times” to-day says that among the suggestions made in the full American memorandum is a proposal that the United States should have the right to build a battleship of the Rodney type, a 33,900 tons vessel with 16inch guns, if she consents to scrap four of her older and smaller ships instead of the three that it would be necessary to scrap to get down to the Washington Treaty figure of fifteen battleships. This statement is also reproduced in the “Daily Telegraph.” Both journals are dubious of the acceptability of such a suggestion. The Prime Minister, at the invitation of Mr Baldwin, made a short statement in the House of Commons this evening on the progress of the Naval Conference. He said that when the conference met, some important preparatory work had still to be done. The delegations had exchanged their views before it ■was desirable to publish the programme. ~ The conference had now reached a stage where the delegations were discussing details of their requirements. The British Government had therefore prepared a memorandum indicating the policy whicffi had actuated them in these negotiations up till now. This document, which had since been discussed with the dominion deleagtes at the conference and generally approved by them, was now available as a White Paper. A summary of the memorandum had been issued to the Press as the result of the issue of a communication giving in some detail the views advanced by the United States delegation, and he had decided not to withhold the statement of the British view until to-day. He wished to make it quite clear that this memorandum, which indicated the Government’s policy, had not been drawn up in agreement with any other delegation.

Progress Being Made. The Prime Minister added: “At this stage of the proceedings, it is difficult for me to give the House any details of the present state of negotiations, but I can say with confidence that progress is being made all along the line.” The heads of delegations held a meeting at St James’s Palace this morning. A communique which was afterwards issued, stated: “For the immediate future, the order of business will be a plenary meeting to-morrow for the discussion of submarines, the completion of questions now under consideration by the First Committee and their report to the heads of delegations and an active continuation of conversations between the delegations.” The Prime Minister will preside over to-morrow’s plenary melting and the British view regarding the submarine question will be given by Mr A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty. Many conversations between delegates took place during the course of to-daj’- and a meeting of experts was held for further consideration of the compromise proposals on the global and category methods of naval limitation. Their report will be presented to the next meeting of the First Committee on Wednesday.

The American spokesman was not prepared to discuss any new United States proposals. This was in reply to week-end rumours that the American Government wants Britain to scrap the Royal Sovereign before older Iron Dukes, also that it wishes to build a battleship of the Rodney type. The latter, it is learned, is a definite proposal, and is likely to reopen the whole battleship question. Various members of delegations are meeting to-day in consultation regarding to-morrow’s plenary session. The First Committee is engaged in completing its report on Questions under its consideration for submission to the heads of delegations.