Evening star., 1921-07-19
LEAGUE FIGHTING
FOR LIFE IN FACE
OF j. U.S.PR0POSAL
Europe Feels Disarmament
Call Is Plan to Substitute
New Alliance.
CHARGE AMERICA REFUSES
JOIN OR TO COOPERATE
Austrian Reconstruction Scheme
Brings on First Skirmishes
in Bitter Contest.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.

BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.
BY Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright, 1911.
PARIS, France. July 19.-The first
skirmishes of what threatens to be a
bitter contest between the Harding
administration and the league OF
forty-eight nations having its head-
quarters in Geneva. Switzerland, have
occurred There is no doubt In the
minds of European statesmen that
one of President Harding's principal
aims in calling a disarmament con-
ference in Washington is to attempt
to substitute any alliance there
formed for the existing league
Whether the league lives or dies
seems to depend largely on what Mr..
Harding can definitely propose and on
the attitude of the principal european
powers toward the proposals.
Europe's dilemma is serious On the
one hand it ardently desires the CO.
operation of the United States IN
world reconstruction, but on the
other it realizes that to dissolve the
league of nations would necessarily
entail a revision of the treaty OF yer
sailles and consequently the calilns
of a new peace conference. what the
outcome will be no one can guess.
L. $. Refuses Co-OperntiOn.
Meanwhile the United States gov
ernment apparently has decided not
only not to join the league, but TO re-
fuse cooperation in any way. A 1ew
weeks ago the league communicates
to some fifty governments. including
| that of the United States. the RECON-
mendations of it's conference on pass
| port regulations and asked for com
ment. From the United States no re-
| ply was received. The other day.
however, the American consul In Ge.
neva called at the headquarters Oh
the league and explained in the name
! Of his government that as the e;,b bh'the the
league it could not answer the
| leagues letters.
Here is another incident that Is no
less significant. The supreme coun-
Gil having tried in vain to evolve an
Austrian reconstruction scheme, turn
ed the problem over To- 70 me +tes tessn soon
| financial commission. The latter soon
obtained the consent of all parties In
Austria to a reconstruction program
based on the Termeulen credit plan.
Promises of small temporary loans
| were obtained from France ana
Britain and for the hTst tlme mnswsu .ne
| Denmark and Holland. all promised
loans. However. before the scheme
| can be put into effect the existing
| financial claims on Austria must. 1t
is estimated, be postponed twenty
| years. The allies, even inciuains his
claims for this length of time.
No Acknowledgement Received.
! Would the United States. to which
i Austria owes $25.O00,000 for relief
do likewise? The league reported
the situation back to the council of
ambassadors That council cabled to
| Washington inquiring whether the
United States, Iii the interest of Eu-
rope's reconstruction, was also Will
| ing to postpone it's claims. up to
! date no acknowiedgmen1 hiaa Whaeeeer
1t is understood that it is the de-
cision of the league disarmament
commission to proceed with lts Work
| in spite of President Harding's call
| ing of another disarmament confer
ence. but this is not intentional oppo-
sition to the American administra-
| tion. The leagues disarmament ac-
tiyity was set in motion by the
| league assembly and the commission
| is obliged to report back to the as
sembly when it meets on September
Rene Viviani hopes that the leagues
, work will serve as basis for the
work of the Washington conference
| prof. Alphonse .Aulard of the Sorbonne
considers that the United States will
| he unable to bring about general dis:
Armament without the league Of ma
tions and the latter will be unable to
realize it's program without the
United States"
Philippe Melett, one of the leading
French political writers. considers
that while it is possible that open
antagonism will develop between
President Harding and the league. 1t
| is far more likely that the leagues
conciliatory policy will succeed In
winning over the United States to
some form Of collaboration
"At bottom" he says, republican
United States asks nothing better
than to reach some honest compro-
mise. In the end it will become recon-
ciled to this league Of nations. whose whose
greatest fault is that it was utilized
in an American presidential cam
paign. In the end everybody will see
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