The Cordova daily times., 1921-01-12
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1921
IF YOU MEAN PEACE, LAY DOWN
 YOUR ARMS

GeueTal ldSK6F ii. BLISS, WnO was the military representative of Presi- dent Wilson at the Paris peace con- ference, calls attention in recent in- terview to the omission from the treaty and covenant of the one thing which would have created a basis for the hope that either document repre- sented a step toward the ending of war,-a provision for disarmament.
 Disarmament is mentioned in the league covenant, but no provision is made for putting this purpose into ef- feet. The shadow of the policy is in the covenant, but not the substance despite which millions of people were deluded into the belief that the one thing the league scheme was intend ed to accomplish was to end war.
 During the past few days disarma- ment has ben under discussion in the league assembly, and it is disclosed anew that the great powers have no intention of permitting their policy in this regard to be controlled by the league, and that the league has no power in the matter other than that of recommendation, which of course, amounts to nothing whatever.
 General Bliss suggests that Ameri- ca should test the sincerity of the great powers which profess a desire 10 end war, by proposing a definite program of disarmament. General Bliss thinks that this proposal need not include a limitation of navies, since navy, he declares could not be successfully employed to accomplish conquest of foreign territory. The strength of this argument is not ap- parent. A navy could wreak such havoc on the seacoast of the United States, for instance, that it's opera. tions would go far toward compelling submission to superior force. More over modern navy is so strong in manpoWer that it could provide a for midable land force against an enemy country without larger army to com bat it.
 General Bliss, with an i'll concealed conviction that such a proposal would be so received by the great powers that their insincerity in demand for world peace would become apparent, declares that he would submit to them program of mutual, progress sive disarmament, carried to such a point that no nation would maintain a military force sufficient to menace the peace of the world or subject any nation to danger of invasion.
 Of course if the dominant purpose at the peace conference had been the of the peace of the world l this would have been the first thing discussed and provided. That it did not have serious consideration Is a sufficient commentary upon the sin cerity of the professions of the diplo- mats who declared that in the formu- lation of the league covenant their purpose was to provide a plan of guaranteed world peace.
 The man who doesn't want to fight is willing to give up his gun if other men will do the same. The fact that the only nations disarmed were the conquered powers, while the victori- ous governments were left free to develop any military or naval program that might be within their means, will convince anyone who does not en- joy being made fool of, that devo- tion to world peace exhausted itself in phrase-making at Paris, and the effort made was not to prevent war, but to prevent the people of the world from grasping the significance of the war breeding provisions of the treaty of peace.
 Of course 1t was not President Will sons purpose to ensure the perpetu- ation of militarism, navalism and i'm perialism throughout the world. But he was tricked, outplayed, misled by alien sympathies and duped by the European diplomats, who permitted