ABSTRACT
The invitation to the Washington conference was accompanied by the proposed agenda: limitation of armaments; and problems arising from the changes in the balance of power in the Pacific and the Asiatic countries bordering on the Pacific. The Washington conference showed that President Harding and his associates believed that the Paris conference had failed to create the conditions and the machinery that would lead to the abandonment of competitive armaments. Public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic, in the British dominions, and in Japan demanded that an honest trial be made of the conference idea to settle disputes and to put an end to competitive armaments. The conviction behind this demand made itself felt at Washington throughout the conference. The study of world politics proves that the amazing development of land armies by conscription and of competitive naval construction has followed the overseas expansion of Europe.
