Mussolini’s Bomb

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 875, 20 January 1930, Page 9

Mussolini’s Bomb

ITALY FIRM ON NAVY CLAIMS All Are Ready For Conference EARLY TALKS AT WEEK-END SENSATIONAL announcements are expected from Italy regarding the prospects of an agreement on naval strength at the Five-Power Naval Conference which begins at London tomorrow. A correspondent says if Italy cannot, secure parity with France Signor Mussolini will direct his delegates to propose scrapping all the navies of the world.

United P. -4. —-By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. Noon. LONDON, Sunday. The first effective work of the,FivePower Naval Conference will be done on Monday morning, when the heads of the delegations will meet to settle the procedure for postponing the session. The “Daily Mail’’ asserts that the Prime Minister of Italy, Signor Mussolini, wants his delegate to announce startling proposals, namely, that if the other nations will follow suit Italy will he prepared to scrap practically her entire fleet. The Italian Government realises that any agreement reached at the conference will leave Italy one of the weakest naval Powers. Therefore complete naval disarmament obviously would be to her advantage. The financial position of Italy makes naval parity with France an idle dream. Apart from his opening gesture Signor Grandi will offer support to any demand made by the United States for drastic reductions. Signor Mussolini considers it intolerable that the strong Powers should be able to leave their weaker brethren in a state of hopeless inferiority. SUBMARINES PROBLEM The “Observer's” diplomatic writer sets out the main controversial issues. First, he says, France and Japan are rigidly opposed to the Anglo-American demand for the abolition of submarines. Secondly, Japan is likely to soften its opposition to the abolition of submarines to an extent if the British Empire and the United States will do the same to Japan’s claim for a 10-10-7 ratio, instead of a 5-5-3 ratio for cruisers. Thirdly, should Italy’s demand for parity with France be discontinued, there is a rumour that Signor Grandi contemplates an early gesture similar to Litvinoff’s at Geneva in favour cf the total abolition of navies. It is considered that Italy may ultimately make such a demand if parity with France is unobtainable by other means.

been very pleasant, and added that the American delegates would call formally on the Prime Minister at No. 10 Downing Street today. He intended to meet delegates of other Fowers before the conference and would probably meet representatives of France and Italy tomorrow. The American delegates were full of hope that the conference would be successful. OUTSIDE WORK M. Briand. the French Foreign Minister, and M. Leygues, Minister of Marine, arrived ill London yesterday evening. M. Tardieu, French Prime Minister, who has been delayed at the Hague Conference, arrived this morning and M. Pietri, French Colonial Minister, arrived this afternoon. M. Briand, on arrival, expressed the opinion that the conference was facing a difficult problem. “There will be as much to do outside as inside the conference room,” he said. “I am hoping to return to Paris within ten days after the appointment of the expert committees. Thereafter M. Tardieu and I shall alternate between London and Paris.” All delegations to the conference are now here. During the weekend, members of the delegations paid courtesy visits to one another, and informal exchanges of opinions of a tentative kind have taken place. READY FOR “HOLIDAY” AMERICA ON NAVY STRENGTH CUT IN CAPITAL SHIPS NEW YORK, Saturday. The Washington correspondent of the New York “Herald-Tribune” says he learned officially today that the United States is prepared not only to declare a five-year battleship “holiday, but to scrap permanently 11 capital ships, which would become obsolete at the end of the "holiday.” It can be announced on the same high authority, says the correspondent, that as an alternative to a drastic reduction of the battleship fleets the United States is prepared to recommend a reduction in the authorised size of capital ships from 35,000 tons to considerably less than 25,000 tons. This is the lowest figure yet proposed by Britain for the capital ships of the future. “THRILLED TO DEATH”

OPENING SCENE SET Less than one-seventh of the space in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords will be occupied by the delegates to the conference at the horseshoe table at the opening of the proceedings. The remainder will be tightly crowded to accommodate the 380 journalists from all parts of the world who are to attend. There is no room for tables for them so they will have to write on their knees. It is a magnificent meeting place with the gallery’s gold-knotted scarlet panels, gilded friezes and imposing paintings. The delegates will sit immediately beneath the huge mural canvas depicting the death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Facing them will be the “Battle of Waterloo.” It will be a wonderful occasion to which the whole world will listen if the atmospherics behave themselves. TALKING OVER DEMANDS DELEGATES ASSEMBLE WEEK-END CALLS Reed. 11.20 a.m. RUGBY, Sunday. Mr. PI. L. Stimson, chief American delegate to the Naval Conference, met a large gathering of Press representatives oil Friday evening and made a short informal statement. He remarked that the landing of the American delegation at Plymouth, a town which had peculiarly interesting associations for Americans, was a good omen of the future. He said his private talk with the Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, had

SCRAMBLE OF TYPISTES LONDON, Saturday. Seventeen typistes, attired In Washington’s latest fashions, arrived with the American delegates. They are receiving even greater publicity than the other 90-odd members of the party. It is revealed that the liner George Washington carried its own beer brewing plant until the publicity given to the matter caused the Washington State Department to wireless: “Throw the brewery overboard.” This was done. Seven of the typistes belong to the State Department, and the other 10 to the Navy Department. They say there was “an awful scramble” for the posts. Hundreds of girls applied and they were “thrilled to death” to be chosen. It is stated that the whole of the members of the delegation have pooled their resources, amounting to £40,000. The expenses of the party at the Ritz and Mayfair Hotels are estimated at £I,OOO a day.