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Rh authorized the organization of ports, and where these are made coextensive with the areas of first-class counties they become ports of the first class. These have elaborate powers of taxation and management. Seattle, Tacoma, Aberdeen and other cities have taken advantage of this law to improve their harbours and to build great wharves and other conveniences to handle the increasing commerce. Highways. The state has embarked upon the task of providing in extensive system of improved roadways. These include the

hington link of the Pacific Highway, intended to extend from

lea to the Straits of Magellan, another highway around Puget <>mid to the. Pacific; and highways across the Cascade Range and

rn Washington. The Federal Government maintains the Mt.

ier National Park and the Olympic National Monument.

rts were being made in 1921 to preserve the Mt. Baker and rhe Mt. Adam national parks. National forests include 12,000,000 ic. within the state. The Legislature has created a state Park Board mthorizcd to receive lands for parks and to preserve strips of native orcst growth along the highways.

History. Ernest Lister, Democrat, became governor in 1913

md was reelected in 1916. He died June 14 1919, and was

iuccceded by Lt.-Gov. Louis F. Hart, Republican. Governor

was elected to succeed himself in 1920. He recommended

vhat is known as the Governor's Administrative Code of 1921,

>ne of the most significant changes in the state government

its organization. It was enacted by the Legislature, and

nany boards of commissioners were abolished. The work

I ormerly in their hands was entrusted to appointive officers.

I Commerce with many nations developed rapidly during the lecade 1910-20. In Seattle there were in 1921 24 resident con-

[luls representing foreign countries. By far the greater number if vessels coming to ports of Puget Sound were under the Japa- .icsc flag. Branches of Japanese banks were established. In 1921 he Legislature passed a law restricting alien ownership of land, imed especially at the Japanese. It provides that: an alien shall lot own land or take or hold title thereto; no person shall take r hold land or title to land for an alien; land now held by or for .liens in violation of the constitution of the state is forfeited to nd declared to be the property of the state; land hereafter onvcycd to or for the use of aliens in violation of the constitution r of this Act shall thereby be forfeited to and become the prop- rty of the state. The word " alien " is so denned that it docs ot include an alien who has in good faith declared his intention o become a citizen of the United States, but does include all ther aliens and all corporations and other organized groups of ersons a majority of whose capital stock is owned or controlled y aliens or a majority of whose members are aliens. During the Vorld War many yards were established for the building of steel nd wooden ships. A special railway was built into the spruce

crests of Clallam county to get materials for airplanes. The 'cdcral Government established a permanent cantonment at I'amp Lewis, near Tacoma. A naval training station was estab- \ shed on the campus of the university of Washington in Seattle. Progressiveness was shown in such legislation as the working len's compensation law (1911), initiative and referendum (1913),

Ipcall of public officers (1913) and aid for destitute mothers 1915). To meet the high cost of government the Legislature in J92i enacted laws levying a poll-tax on every person between the iges of 21 and 50, and a tax of one cent on each gallon of gasoline ised by motor vehicles; the tuition charges in state institutions ' F learning, and the fees for licences for automobiles and for fish- ealcrs and others were also increased.

During the World War the state supplied to the army 4S,iS4 ten; navy 11,887; and marine corps 1,767. The state's subscriptions to the Liberty loans were: First, $17,070,650; Second, 38,481,100; Third, $42,907,950; Fourth, $70,189,650; Fifth, 4.5,024,150. (E. S. M.)

WASHINGTON CONFERENCE, 1921. Preliminary invita- ons to a conference at Washington on the limitation of ational armament were issued by President Harding on uly 10 1921 to Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. On ug. 1 1 formal invitations were sent to these Powers, to China, nd later to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal, Presi- ent Ha'rding having been authorized by Congress, in an amend- icnt to the Naval Appropriations bill signed July n 1921, to rrange for the Conference. The President made it plain that

he regarded disarmament questions .as closely linked with the Pacific and Far Eastern problems. As American delegates Mr. Harding designated Secretary of State Hughes, Elihu Root, Senators Lodge and Underwood; the British Empire was represented by Mr. Balfour, Lord Lee of Fareham, Sir Auckland Geddes and Sir Robert Borden, as principal dele- gates; France by Premier Briand, M. Viviani, M. Sarraut, and M. Jusserand; Italy by Sig. Schanzer and Sig. Ricci; Japan by Prince Tokugawa, Admiral Kato, and Ambassador Shide- hara; China by Mr. Wellington Koo and Mr. Sze.

The Conference assembled Nov. 12 1921, was addressed by Mr. Harding, and elected Mr. Hughes as its chairman. The latter at once placed the American proposals on naval disarmament before the gathering; they were so precise and far-reaching as to cause general surprise. Reviewing the failure of previous attempts at disarmament and emphasizing the existing oppor- tunity, Mr. Hughes proposed that there should be a naval " holiday ": " for a period of not less than 10 years there shall be no further construction of capital ships." He then presented a definite plan for the scrapping of certain of the older capital ships and of capital ships under construction, and the restriction of capital ship replacements by an agreed maximum of ton- nage, as follows: for the United States and Great Britain 500,000 tons each, for Japan 300,000 tons a " 5-5-3 " ratio. Discussion of the tonnage allowance for France and Italy was reserved for later consideration. The directness with which Mr. Hughes stated his case struck a note which evoked hearty response from the delegates and the public, and he was at once supported by the British delegation. " We can no longer content ourselves," Mr. Hughes said, " with investigations, with statistics, with reports, with the circumlocution of in- quiiy. . . . The world wants a practical programme which shall at once be put into execution." At the second plenary conference, held Nov. 15, the representatives of France, Japan, and Italy also accepted the principles of the Hughes pro- posals, leaving the technical details for consideration by the experts.

In the plenary session of Nov. 21 the subject of military armament was introduced by Mr. Hughes, who said that the United States had followed its traditional policy of reducing its own regular military establishment to the smallest possible basis. He recognized, however, the special difficulties existing in Europe. M. Briand explained the attitude of France as based on her need for security in Europe; expressing the readiness of his country to take any steps necessary to 'ensure peace, he emphasized the necessity of a genuine atmosphere of peace, a " moral disarmament," before physical disarmament could be attempted. This atmosphere, he maintained, was lack- ing chiefly because of what France regarded as the warlike attitude of Germany, the carefully maintained system which made it possible for her suddenly to convert a huge number of " civilians " into troops, and the availability of her war industries. France, he claimed, had already reduced her army by a third and was planning to reduce it by a half. Complete demobilization, however, was impossible for her under the conditions existing in Germany and Russia. M. Briand concluded with an appeal for the moral support of France by other nations, and this evoked a sympathetic response from the other delegates. Sig. Schanzer of Italy, however, made plain the desire of his country that "the general limitation of land armaments may become a reality within the shortest space of time." The result of the attitude of France was to establish the impracticability of discussing any definite plan for the limitation of armies. A sub-committee was appointed, however, to consider the questions of air-craft, poison gases, and the rules for the conduct of war.

The agenda of the Conference were dealt with by two com- mittees of the whole, one composed of the delegates of the five principal Powers to deal with limitation of armament, the other, composed of delegates of all nine Powers, including China, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal, to deal with matters affecting the Pacific and the Far East.