Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-27
Germany is Against Dis
armament Policy
CAUSED A SENSATION
Delegates From That Country Inform
ed Members of the Peace Confer
ence That They Could Not Accept
the Proposal of the Car.

London, June 27.-The correspondent of
German delegates today privately in
formed their colleagues that they had re-
ceived Instructions to accept the principle
OF a permanent tribunal of arbitration as
outlined in the Anglo-American plans.
This, and the speech of Col. Gross Won
Schwarskoff, plainly intimating that Ger
many had made up her mind against the
Russian idea of disarmament and had
reached the conclusion that the time had
! arrived to tell the world SO, are the two
! great events of the whole conference.
Neither has been published as an official
act of the German government, but ev-
erybody knows that Germany will not re-
cede from the position thus taken. To-
day l interviewed many delegates, some
| very friendly to Germany-others hostile.
They We're unanimous in declaring the
SchWarzkoff speech a crushing blow. pull
VeriZing the rSument of Gen. Denber
P~oortuguael and Col. JilinSki.
Altogether, his speech was the greatest
sensation of the conference, hitherto no.
body expecting Germany to reject the
Russian proposal in SO brusque and I'M
III / ~ ain w & lllC IL
ament proposals came on, the first feel
ing of most of the members was to reject
everything forthwith. NJ. de Staal, see
ing this. went up to the chairman and
asked him to propose a subcommittee.
On the division all the delegates voted
for the pOstponenent Of the consideration
of military disarmament until after the
report of the subcommittee, except
those of Germany and Austria. who voted
for its in1maHiatn consideration which
would have meant immediate rejection.
The Swiss delegate abstained from voting
and the United States at first ided with
Germany, but Gen. CrOzier was finally
talked over and he voted with the ma
jority.
Col. Gross o Schwarzkoff spoke for
over half an hour with overpowerinS
frankness. His speech was considered ad-
mirable, and the members Of the confer
ence predict that he has a future. He
said the reduction of peace forces in no
way implied Il corresponding reduction Of
offensive power. These forces might be
kept stationary and a country still be in
creasing its offensive power. Length of
military service. service by deputy. rail-
ways, rapidity Of mobilization and econO-
mical conditions will all be factors in
making UP the military strength Of the
country. and to make n term only Of the
problem and to argue tina reducing forces
all around would leave the various coun-
tries on the same relative footing toward
one another as before, however plausible
1t might appear to an outsider, was, to
the military expert, so manifest an abb
surdity that he Che speaker) wondered
it had been put forth, presumably in
earnest.
When the German delegate sat down,
everybody thought: What will the poor
Russians say?' and the reply of Col. jill
inski showed that they We're lamer than
ever. Indeed. one noticeable feature of
the conference is the utter inferiority of
the Russians in debate. If military dis
armament halts, laval disarmament is
lame. The arbitration committee sat for
three hours today. Germany will accept
the permanent court subject. perhaps, to
some notifications.