Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-14
END OF ARMAMENT
INCREASE IS ASKED
immediate Stop Of Preparations
tor War Embodied in
League Plans
ADOPTION HELD DOUBTFUL
BY the Associated Press

NeheNa. Dec. l4.-An agreement
among the powers to put an immediate
end TO the growth of armaments Is con
templeted in the League of Nations
plan for disarmament ms presented hy
the disarmament committee at TO-DAY .
session Of the assembly hero. Tho
council Of the league Is asked to un-
dertake the bringing about Of such au
agreement.
In explaining the report To tho as.
sembly Hjalmar Branting. Of Sweden.
and II. 4. l.. Fisher. Of Great Britain.
said that the committee. while unani.
mously and wholeheartcdly In favor of
the .speedics possible disarmament,
was forced to the conclusion that the
moment had not arrived when It would
Be possible to accomplish It.
There are countries with the most
powerful armament building facilities
outside the league" said Mr. Fisher.
'and disarmament can begin only when
II Is universal"
First Agreement Not Ratified
The committee in its report pointed
out that convention for the control
Of the traffic in arms and ammunition
was signed by Great Britain. tho United
states. France, Japan. Belgium, Bo-
livia, Cuba, China, Ecuador. Greece and
Italy at st. Germain, when the Austrian
peace treaty was signed. but that this
convention had not yet been ratified and
that no steps had been taken to make it
effective. The report proposes that the
council urge the signatoricS to ratfy
the treaty without delay.
The convention in question prohibits
exports of arms and munitions. except
under special licenses for deliveries to
the governments themselves. 1t was
especially intended to prevent the guam
titles of arms remaining on hand at
the end Of the war from falling into
the hands Of the less civilized peoples.
II provides for an International office to
control the trade in arms. The com
mittee proposes that this body be used
In a more general way to exercise con.
troll over the private manufacture Of
arms.
Disarmament Acid Test OF League
Mr.. Fisher, in discussing the recon.
nendation in the report regarding the
checking of the growth Of armaments.
said he had no doubt of the acceptance
BY Great Britain of the proposal to
spend no more on armaments for the
next two years than she did last year.
Disarmament said George Nicoll
Barnes, Of the British delegation. who
followed Mr.. Fisher, 'iS the real acid
test of the success Of the League of Ma
dons. ] regret that there is in the re-
port no clear cut declaration that there
Is not less quibble and more pluck"
Two sessions Of the assembly will be
held daily, beginning today and ending
On Friday. this provisional agenda be-
Ing adopted for the purpose Of finishing
the meeting of the assembly before Sat
urday. 1t is realized, however. that IL
any one subject brings on long de-
bate the meeting will last until Sat
urday, and most Of the delegates, count
ing on full weeks work. have re-
served berths on trains leaving for Paris
Saturday night.
Referring to the statement in the re.
port that 1.-THE control Of the expectation
Of arms had been hindcrod by tho alb
sence Of necessary authority TO control
exports OF arms from the United States,
where arms are manufactured on a large
scale, Mr. Barnes said that fact should
not prevent the other governments from
carrying out the provisions Of the st.
Germain convention.
''The first step in disarmament, was
the characterization Of the proposed
measures voiced by lIjalmar Brantng.
Of Sweden. the chairman Of the com
mittee, when he laid the report before
the assembly. The report, largely filed
with academic discussion, proposed ms
the first practical measure to usk the
powers to agree not to spend on arma q.
ments during the next two years more
than they spent last year. N also asked
for continued study Of the disarmament
question by the military commission Of
the league and by II special temporary
committee.
Leon Bourgeois. OF France, said hc
accepted the conclusions of the report
with the reservation that France was
obliged to restore her armameutS that
had been worn out by the war. lie did
not consider such action as an increase
IN armament he added.
Buenos Aires. Dec, 14.-OBy \. PD
Argentina will not give any Motif.
cation Of Withdrawal from the League Of
Nations in accordance with Article 7 of
the pact. because it does not consider
that Argentina ever has been a member
of the league, the Associated Press was
Informed by the foreign office today,
This statement was made 10 clarity
what is held to he q misnnprchension
concerning ArGpntina's position in with
drawing her delegates from the assem-
bly, of the league. The mistake arose on
account of Geneva dispatches indicating
that notification Of withdrawal from the
league was expected from Argentina rs
the next diplomatic step, and that il
was considered she must continue to b"
a member Of the league for two wears
after such notification was given. in ac-
eordancc with the terms Of the pu"t.
The foreign office points 10 series NJ
diplomatic documents published last
week regarding the relations ut Argcn
tina to the league which nrC held 10
show that she only accepted tho fnrmu
tion Of the league lin principle. Her
adhesion, 1t Is declared was adhesion
In general.
The documents are addured to show
Il was clearly stated that Argentina sent
delegates for the purpose Of parti"i
pating in the organization Of the league
after having set forth in diplomatic
communications that il favored tho
establishment of a league in which all
nations would partiripat" without dis
tinctiOn.
The governments adhesion, there
fore, was conditional. u j. further *
plninod. ard its Delegates went !" Gen
eva to discuss the rundHi"us "f th"
leagues establishment. This vas the
reason, the explanation sets furth why
the question Of adhesion was never sub
mitted to the congress Of Argentina for
ratification, sine" IN" government had
not entered into uuN intornuiiuIial
agreement that roIld be ratified
Had In" league heeu formed in Il way
acceptable - the Arg"u'iuiun Cavern
ment then tho QucHlnn nf ratification
OF Argentina : participation in il would
have beer submitted to the congress.
The Argentine tioYCrnmCnt' view, it
was declared. Is that since the Geneva
assembly did not permit dI~ruNniou Of
the Argentiniau conditions, the with