Evening star., 1925-02-13
IDEA OF PROTOCOL
REVISION GROWING
Failure of British to Accept
Geneva Peace Plan Arous-
! ing PessimISm.
HN the A ssnciafed prrx

By the Associated Prrss
GENEVA, February 13.--A some :
what pessimstic atmosphere seems in
process of formation here concerning g
the prospects of the Geneva peace
protocal, framed at the meeting of
the last assembly of the League Of
Nations. The apparent disincIina tion
OF the British government to accept
the protocol, which forms the subject
of news dispatches reaching Geneva
almost daily, is serving to confirm
the impression here that the protocol
must be remodeled
Among the representatives of the
small states the idea advanced of
setting up a hree-cornered, or even
aAqusdruple, alliance with Great Brit
ain, France. Belgium and Germany as
the parties, by way OF supplying
security, is not being at all heartily
welcomed. granting that this would
mean the scrapping of the Geneva
protocol. The reason assigned for
this lack of enthusiasm is the idea
held by the small nations that an
An nglo- French alliance, or the some
what broader one suggested, would
not be accompanied by that policy OF
mutual and general assistance pro-
vhied for in Lord Cecils original
treaty of mutual assistance and later
by the Geneva prolocoi.
See Storm in Next Assembly.
Hence the opinion prevails that
spv abandonment of compulsory arbi-
ira ton. security and disarmament as
the trinity of obiectives applying to
an countries will cause a storm IN
the next assembly.
Meantime the leagues new commls-
eion of coordination. created to pre-
pare for the big disarmament CONFER
enre which was to follow acceptance
of the protocol, will devote itself TO
other matters affecting the armament
n-oh1em An official communique to-
dav announced that the inaugural
session of the commission had been
convoked for next Monday to dis
ciss the question of control or the
private manufacture of arms, muni-
tions and war material. The league
covenant declare the private manu-
faeture of arms raises grave obJec-
tions and gives the council mandate
to take steps to curb this practice
always taking into account, however.
the fact that some countries are un-
able themselves to produce the arms
necessary to their security.
To Discuss Arms Conference.
One question before the commits ssion
will be the desirability of summon
ing an international conference on
this subject as a natural sequence to
the May conference on the control of
: the International traffic in arms, at
which the United States will be repre-
scented.
Mondays meeting of the commits
sion will be historic in a sense, as
1t is virtually the first session of what
may be regarded as council No. ,
of the league. The countries repre-
sented on the council proper have
the right to send representatives to
this meeting, but probably all of them
will designate others than those who
habituaIly attend the council ses-
sions. Great Britain will send Ronald
MacNeill, undersecretary for foreign
affairs; France will have Paul Bon
cour as her representative, while for
Czechoslovakia DR.. Veverka, the
Minister to Switzerland will replace
DR.. Benes, her foreign minister.
Other members of the coordination
committee include delegates from the
leagues military, transit and eco
nomic sections and committees, and
also labor and employers representa-
tives from the International Labor
p,,reo,