The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-08-15
GREAT SOLDIER MAY REPRESENT
FRANCE lNiAcoNFERENcE' =
( i. ON DISARMAMENT. @s.f
TO Be GUEST OF THE LEGION
French Dread Of the German Menace
Will Have Its Effect on the Delhi.
creations Of the lnternatienaIs GAth.
erinq in Washington. ,..I,$%y ;>$ $$Ss,sssss574
.fBy EDWARD B. CLARKE

States, just DeISfe lie Slllcu LOT IdIiS
the other day on Il short vacation.
"mopped his heated brow" and made
two remarks, one of which everybody
who lives in Washington Is willing to
say certainly is true, and the other
of which all veterans Of the A. Il. f.
probably hope is true. The first word
Of the ambassador was that wash
ington IS the hottest place on EARTH"
aud the second was, "When / come
back to this country early in october
Marshal Foch will come with me-
Recently there came word from
the French government to the effect
that the military man who would
represent it in the disarmament con-
ference probably would be General
Sarrail, one of the best known soldiers
of France and one of the men Who
helped to turn the German tide back
at the Marine in early September, 1914,
and who, in fact, was one of Jo1re's
most able lieutenants. III
It is believed that Marshal Foch,
admitted by most men to be the great
est soldier that the war produced,
will come to this country in October
as the companion of the ambassador,
but whether or not he will represent
the French nation later on the dis
armament conference board is not YET
known. If he comes as member OF
the board Sarrail probably will not
come, for it would be counter to gen.
eral usage to send two high military
authorities on joint errand. -.
Coming to Legion Convention.
General $Foch Is coming to- the
United States to attend a convention
of the American Legion to be held in
Kansas City, for which great prepara'
tons, are, making. He also will be
the guest Of other organizations which
grew out of the war, and Of the
knights Of Columbus in Chicago. .A
From the tenor of the recent French
dispatches it appears that they In
tend to include, among the conferees
whom they appoint a military man
rather than naval man. Frances
great problem In disarmament has to
do with it's land forces rather than
it's navy, while with Great Britain,
and to- a considerable extent the
. United States, the matter is reversed.
There has been frequent comment
here on the difference between belief
in the coming Of disarmament and
hope that it is to come. Everybody
hopes that the conferences bring
chance to throw away as many
weapons y 7as possible by common
agreement, and also there are many
who hold that there. are q good many
rocks in the way. ~,&S,4-
When Ambassador Jusserand sailed
for France the other, day he probably
expressed the views of his fellow
countrymen, when. touching the cues
ton of land disarmament. he said:
There, are no, Straits of Dover be-
tween France and. Germany and my
country must protect her own inter-
ests."
France Still Sees German Menace.
The century-old fear that Germany
intended some stlaN to disrupt France
utt its leisure is hard to kill In the
French mind and heart. The, fear
about the German menace is not, for
today. but. for tomorrow, and so IT is
believed generally, in Washington
that when the, question Of land arma-
ment, comes up for discussion the
views of the French either must pre-
viii or France cannot agree to all the
conclusions arrived at by the other
members Of the conference. Z .m
There Is another point which will
be at issue in the disarmament $gath-
ering. Every nation will be COM
PEELED to make provision for enough
soldiers to do it's internal police work.
By this Is meant the work of protect
ing the government; against riots and
untoward events generally, and also
giving it a sufficient force Of soldiers
to be used as nucleus in case that.
ut some untoward time. some other
party to the conference fOrgets its
promise, tears up the paper of agree
ments and starts invading on its own
hook.
! Therefore there is no. possible
chance that as aresult ofEthe confer.
ence complete disarmament wi1l Come,
nor perhaps anything approaching com
plete disarmament: but If the navies
OF the world can he so reduced that
troops cannot be transported to Attack
an across-the-sea nation, and IL the
armies of, each nation are so reduced
that one country cannot by its superior
force Instantly invade another coun-
try. practical disarmament wilt have
been accomplished e St&
t& Congress Divided as to Recess.
One faction Of the dominanta party
in congress today is maintaining that
the sentiment In the country is In
favor of having the lawmakers stick
to their work and do all that they
can tlU In legislative way without
Thought of q recess. Another faction
main.ninS that the country desires
that the two big legislative jobs Of
tariff and taxation should be finished
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