The Naval Conference Breakdown Italy's refusal, if she does refuse,
to sign any naval agreements reached in London is no very grave matter, for the agreements were so negligible a harvest for a con- ference that was to have carried still further the great achievements of Washington that to lose them altogether would make little difference to the world. The reduction; slight as is was, in the tonnage of certain vessels (not battleships) and in the calibre of certain guns, would • have meant some small financial saving, but it would have done nothing to diminish the suspicion and uncer- tainty which the resumption of naval competition will inevitably promote. Japan made anything like complete success impossible, but -even after her withdrawal each of the other participating States (with the exception, it • would appear; of Great Britain) took its stand on some 'stipulation—the United States for capital ships of 35,000 tons, France and Italy against the abolition of submarines —which made agreement on reductions of any substance impossible. The London disarmament failure, following on the Geneva disarmament failure, has made it fatally -clear that there will be neither reduction nor limitation . till the political tension has relaxed. The signs of that are deplorably nebulous. All that can be said is that the -policy outlined by Mr. Eden on Monday offers the only -hope to the world.
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