Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-07-06
4 Gr;evous1y Narrov V;;e,O Of
the Washington Treaty
. RANGES acceptance of the Washing

r. RANGES acceptance of the Washing
ton treaty on armament limitation
will be cordially welcomed without
inquiring too curiously into the motives be-
hind her concurrence. 1t is to be hoped,
however, that she will find other or, rather,
additional reasons for support of the peace
conserving pact than those put forward by
M. Lausanne, editor of LIE MATIN, in a tone
of complacent worldy-wiseness if not of cyni-
cism.
The French Senate and Chamber of Depu-
ties soon will be called upon to consider the
treaty, which, as the trenchant-penned edi-
tor points out, they are free to ratify, amend,
or reject. He urges ratification, not for the
sake of international good will, not for the
promotion Of a more generous and more
fruitful world order, not for any Of the larger
reasons which inspired the converting Of the
disarmament conference, but simply because
France herself has nothing to lose and, per-
haps, a good deal to gain. " AS it stands"
he says of the treaty, ut does no harm to
the vital interests Of France. 1t in no way
touches her land armature. 1t does not pre-
vent her from building defensive and rapid
submarines, which she believes in. 1t only
prevents her from building quantities of
giant battleships in which she does not be-
lieve and VIII n would only complete the
ruin of her finances. Apart from all its
formulas and phrases the Washington treaty
comes to this: 1t prevents France from hav-
ing a fleet Of mastadons, which in any case
she would not have, which she could not
have, and which she does not want to have.
Weep, manufacturers of armor plate! Tax
payers, rejoice!"
Obviously, M Lausanne is appealing to his
public in terms which he has no doubt of
their understanding. IT he were writing to
the hundred or the thousand rather than to
the million, he might present considerations
less provincial, less hucksterish. Nor are
his efforts in persuading the million serv-
ice to be sneeZed at. The League of Nations
probably would not have been rejected by
the United States Senate If the mass Of the
American people had understood the bear
ing of international issues on their daily
bread and common veal. Certainly no peo-
pie will approve of a treaty which they sus-
pect to be harmful or hazardous to their
eountry's interests They must be convinced
in terms of their own life and thought that
the proposal is we'll advised before they can
fairly see it's wider leading and it's larger
good. And if this is true of men everywhere,
how particularly, how UNDERSTANDABLE true
Of the French, with the glory and the tragic
price of Verdun's Ills ne passeront pas still
aflame in their memory! ....
When all this has been granted, however,
the fact remains that we cannot get far with
the great cause OF world peace, reconstruct
ton, concord, and progress if nations will
look no further than their exclusive and i'm
mediate advantage. Further, they must
look in mere justice to themselves, for in
these closely woven times the good Of each
is inseparable from the good Of all. The SUI
preme worth of the Washington treaty to
France, as to America and itain and Japan
and the others, il not in negative harm
lessness to her particular interests, but in
a positive service to the common interests of
humankind. That is the real worth, more
over, Of every plan and every appeal to bring
nations into helpful co-working on the tasks
and problems which involve them all. To
miss this larger meaning of the Washington
treaty or of any like compact is to miss the
of history which will lead the world from
a dark and fearsome labyrinth to light and
liberty.