COUNCIL OF NATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1921, Page 5

COUNCIL OF NATIONS.

disarmament problem. HOPES OF SUCCESS. DESIRE FOR AGREEMENT. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyrigtt. Received Sept. 28, 11.15 pan. Washington, Sept. 28. Mr. Frederick Moore, foreign councillor in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writing to a magazine, states: “The success of the armament conference ought to be assured. All the other Powers participating will probably go further than the United States in making concessions to reach an understanding, and if America becomes a party to such a compact the other Powers will undoubtedly enter into a complete alliance with us. But as much as that cannot be expected, alliances being I contrary to America’s policy. The Japanese Government, reassured and confident, I is ready to make surprising concessions to the American point of view.” It is understood that the participating Governments at the armament conference, regardless of the size of their delegations, wiil have only one vote each, and action of the conference must be unanimous. This policy applies to the agenda, as well as actual subjects on which the conference will act after discussions begin.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. PROGRAMME AWAITED. DELICATE ISSUES. London, Sept. 27. Official quarters are disinclined to discuss the Washington Conference pending the recipt of the detailed programme from the United States of the business it is proposed to submit to the conference. Some people think that if the contferenee had been confined to an effort to secure a general agreement on dis--1 armament, a distinct step forward would ; have been obtained, without adding to I the Pacific problem. The latter involves so many delicate issues that failure to agree is likely to make the question more acute hereafter. Advices from America indicate that President Harding is working strenuously to create a suitable atmosphere for the conference, but his efforts are hampered by injudicious newspaper dispatches from Tokio. The President deprecates the introduction of single issues, such as Japan’s Far Eastern claims, as tending to neutralise an all-round reduction of armaments.

Meanwhile a statement, with a semiofficial suggestion, is published that the agreement on disarmament does not depend absolutely on the settlement of the Far Easterji problem. Nevertheless, it is understood that the United States will press for a settlement of the Chinese open door and the Shantung question, also that Japan, while she is permitted the peaceful penetration of Siberia, should not annex territory. The United States also desires Japan to believe her opposition to immigration is merely economic and not racial.