Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-03-14
MUST BE TACKLED
WISELY AND SLOWLY, BLISS SAYS
Is Difficult Problem and Cannot Be Rushed, He
Warns, Citing Many Obstacles That Must Be
OvercOme-Cautions Fanatics.

terial to put into their hands. and
this would be a great gain for peace.
IF the conference attempts to deter
mine a measurement Of relative arma-
ments. / think 1t will be found prac
ticable only by comparison OF the
number Of trained men with the col
ors and in civil life and the amount Of
military equipment of every kind. 1t
would lead to no useful result to dis
cuss whether the men OF one nation
ere better or poorer soldiers than those
Of another. No nation will reduce it's
armed forces or it's equipment merely
because 1t is believed that they are
better than those OF some other ma
tion--a point which will be holly con-
tested and on which there would never
be an agreement.
Expenditures Poor Guide.
Nor, to take another illustration.
can military expenditures be accepted
as a safe guide in the comparison Of
ornaments. These depend in each ma
ton upon the compensation which 1t
is willing to give its soldiers, upon
wages Of civil labor. etc.
ut may be suggested that a con.
ference make distinction between
offensive and purely defensive parts
OF national armament. If 1t should
attempt to do this. 1t would probably
find that fertilization without it's
armament Is about the only purely
defensive element. The armament Of
the fertilization could be properly
classed as defensive II II Is immovable
from it's position. But even SO 1t could
not be so classed il the fertilization Is
located in a manner to give its guns
range over alien territory.
TT will be difficult for a conference
to draw up a mathematical scale for
reduction except on the basis Of the
existing strength in trained personnel
and its available stock OF military
equipment. II 1t attempts to take into
account such elements as national re.
sources. geographic situation. vulnera-
bility Of frontiers. etc. each nation
will say that its existing military es-
tablishment results from taking into
account all Of these and many other
factors. That being the case. II a re-
duction is to be effected on a certain
scale, it must be one based on present
conditions. Otherwise, nations A. B
and c may say. 1T is possible that we
can still further develop our organized
strength: you must wait until we have
completed this before a fair scale Of
proportionate reduction can be made
Aircraft Cut Practicable.
"A reduction in aircraft specially de-
signed and made for military purposes
could be effected as easily as could
reduction in any other class Of ma
terial, provided a scale can be agreed
upon for any of them. It Is probable.
however, that all civil aircraft could
be used for some direct or indirect
military purpose in time Of war. Prob
ably not even those that could be con-
verted would equal aircraft specially
designed for military use. But there
will soon be civil aircraft OF great
carrying capacity. both for passengers
and freight, that will be very valuable
in war for transportation purposes.
They will be, as 1t were, motor cars
and railway trains in the air. If an
attempt Is made to determine the
equivalent value in military sense Of
different classes Of civil aircraft a con-
ference would probably have to rate
them as Of the same military value as
machines specially designed for war
because Of the difficulty Of agreeing on
any other equivalence"
Gen. Bliss concludes that after citing
these different aspects OF the disarma-
ment problem it Is not necessary for
him again to emphasize the fact that
it is 'the very slipperiest Of all slip
perry problems to take firm hold Of
Problem Is Difficult.
MANY people are impatient of the
delay" he writes. They think that
the solution Is as easy as to ask and
answer the question, What is the sum
Of 10 units? But we are dealing with
national mentalities. whose energy
will for a time be quite exhausted
when they have added two units. It
will be an indefinite time before they
get 10. But they will get, If they only
begin, nearer and nearer to it. The
real problem Is to begin to add
my own opinion" adds Gen. Bliss,
'is that for the present the most prac-
ticable thing to work for is regional
limitation and reduction growing out
Of increasing regional security. Every
such step will be in the direction of
general disarmament. And as a mat.
ter of fact, If a very few great nations
could begin some reduction in that
part of their military establishments
which Is admittedly maintained with
an eye to their near neighbors, with.
out concerning themselves with what
the many small nations are willing to
do. the problem Of disarmament would
be long step On the way to solution"