Evening star., 1921-11-06
BY N. o. MESSENGER.

u close reader of the newspa-
per and the higher class OF
the periodical press. They do
say that he has been very much IN
terested lately in noting that MINOR
ity proportion of the comment upon
the forthcoming armament confer
ence which takes gloomy view OF
the outcome Of the impending effort
to limit armament.
And the President, it is said, Won
ders where they get the idea that
the conference can be failure in
any possible circumstances. He does
not harbor a thought remotely con-
templating such a possibility. He
has warned the public against ex-
pecting the impracticable and the
obviously impossible, but he and all
those about him in official life have
not from the outset considered for
an instant the suggestion Of failure.
x X + \
b The Lord Lee Of Fareham, head of the
British admiralty, and a delegate to
the conference, upon landing in New
York last week. made this observa-
ton: Il am not prepared even to con-
template the possibilities of failure.
To do so would be to assume that the
world is afflicted with an incurable
insanity and could not be restrained
from suicide
If one spoiled a ream of print paper,
notwithstanding the high cost of COM
position, stereotyping and press work,
could he say more and describe the
situation better? While not pretend
ing to the right to speak for the
President, it's dollars to doughnuts
that he would say, Those are my
sentiments" ..
3d.. X \ y X
The crepe-hangers and pessimists
are having uphill work with their
mournful prophecies in these days
marking the near approach of the
conference. Their forebodinSs are be-
ing negatived by the frank and oh
viously sincere utterances Of dele
gates as they near the shores and
after they arrive, all breathing the
same declaration Of faith in the out
come and determination to make it
successful.
1t would seem that they have caught
some of the spirit of America in pre-
posing the undertaking.; that they
have taken on the enthusiasm of The
virile younger nation which has pro-
@1<l 4
old world, sick of centuries of blood
shed and the burden Of war, to get
together and change the order of
things; that they have acknowledged
the practicability OF the suggestion
as well as it's altruis:ic spirit. F'a
President Harding ard Secretary
hughes are unQuestionably RESPONSE
BILE, by their utterances and their
course. for creating the enthusiasm
echoed by the delegates.
y X + X -
Back Of all this, however, is the
superdominant fact that the peoples
Of the countries of the world stand in
solid array demanding what this con-
ference proposes to seek To accom-
plish. This is not to be a meeting
of the politicians of the world dicke--
ing for political advantage, but a
gathering of representatives cf the
millions of the inhabitants OF the
Sciyilized world with a mandate from
1their constituents.
The delegates will not dare to re-
turn to their countries with a report
lot failure. Just ponder that sugges-
ytisn for a while.
\ X 4 \
1t is noted that all the delegates
who talk some time in the course
Of their utterances put forth the
suggestion. by way of qualification,
it, might be said, Of their forecasts
sof: some scheme of Limitation, that
whatever is agreed upon must stop
short Of imperiling national safety.
Nav, when one comes to analyze
| that thought is it not rather op-