Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-19
THE CURTAIN AT GENOA

JUDGMENT upon the Genoa conference
= which closes with II full session TODAY
depends largely upon the amount Of homo
and expectation invested in that venture.
Visions of Il love-feast of radicals and
rcactionaries. and Of n rcadjusted Europe
suddenly arising upon the foundations of n
new craftsmanship were seductive but in.
substantial.
The exclusion of the rcparations ouesti,n
and other difficulties derived from rho
Treaty of Versailles seriously narrowed rho
scope of the conclavc at the outset. The
weight OF international attention was then
1minediat"y diverted to the Russian situa.
uon, to the virtual neglect Of an abundance
Oh nnancial and commercial issues inrlud-
ing tariff regulations. money stabilization,
rates Of exchange and industrial o-opcru
ton.
Whatever energies of the conforcos. hayc
Deen devoted 10 such subjects have been
insignificant compared with tho effort cx.
pended in seeking to reconcile the social and
economic systems of communism and free
competition.
There is no doubt ut ALL" declares
Tleyd George in II burst of candor after th.
struggle, THAT the two systems are quito
rreconcilablc--the system in ItuSsiu and
that obtaining in other parts Of tho world -
More than anything else. it wa, this con-
f1ict of principles which DISRUPTED tho con.
ference. The Rapallo Treaty the mlitant
intransigeanrc of France tho oil concession
appetite of i'ritain~--thc>n constituted rocks
which rendered diplomatic Navigation diff.
cult, yet none of these proved fatal
In the United States the belief thnt the
abandonment of the conference is dircrt
consequence of Old World commercial
greed. Old World ieaousics. Old World
oil
perialism and in general Old World mad.
pess and wickcdnoss, has hud somewhat OK.
tended currency. In the udvcrsity of our
best friends, declared rynic sage ''wc
often find something that is not exactly dis
pleasing
And yet in the midst Of our self -esterm
originating in comparisons deemed nuttor
Ing to ourselves. Secretary Hoover define,
the Russian Quandury in terms only 100
clear to the embarrassed Entente, and Soc
retary Hughes defends American isolation
with reasons very similar 10 those which
played havoc AZ Genoa
X Thus far the Sovict Government hos
sought to obtain credit from the rest Of the
world without rcnounring the principle of
iepudiatiOn. Mr.. Chichcrin and his con-
ferees have argued for the Sanciity of rrvo-
Htions and have supported their c0ntrn-
tions on behalf of cnnfscntion by historical
references to succc' Sful uprisings and wars
in which property rights were but impcr-
fectly regarded.
il the Russians went To Genoa merely to
conduct debate they may be perhaps as
knowle'lgcd as victorS. But the cause of
cconomic and commercial rehabilitation is
not advanced II millimrter by II battle of
secial PHILOSOPHERS.
It IL in the effort to Ssvoid academic
wsangling that the commiSsior system for
operation ut The Hague is been designed.
Exparts will be summoned 10 reconcile, If
pooelhle, MS the buoyant Lloyd George ex-
na1nese II, 'sdivergencies in practice with
nVncies In principle" II this cannot
k4< -. II hrories of government and con-
W. FPiss the Interpretation of