The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-12-16
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Rdssia's Plan for Total Dis
armament Rejected by
Other Powers.
BY EDWARD w. pIcKARp

BY EDWARD w. PiCkARD
COVIET Russia made its big peace
~ gesture at the opening session of
the League of Nations preparatory
disarmament commission in Geneva,
and it was far from being a success.
Maxim Litvinoff, head of the soviet
delegation, proposed the disbanding
of all armies, sinking navies, destroy
ing military airplanes, razing forts,
scrapping factories manufacturing
chemicals for war purposes, like
poison gas and deadly bacteria. He
thought this should be done within
one year, but said his government
would agree to a plan for carrying
out the total disarmament gradually
during period of four years. NJ.
Litvinoff continued:
It II have examined the schemes you
have been working on and am terri
fed by their complexity. The mixing
in of the security problem, fixing the
size of army and navy the states are
entitled to maintain, according to
geographic position and international
obligations, prove the futility of at
tempting to deal with the question on
these lines.
1'ass.UDless the base of the negotiations
Is changed the disarmament confer
ence either will break down complete
~ or continue to waste time during
the decade to come. The danger of /
war is not theoretic possibility but I
real imminent menace. Therefore, we
propose the following resolution /
commence Immediately to draft de- 4
tailed project of disarmament, based
on the soviet proposals, and convOke
In March. 1928. at the latest a general
conference on disarmament"
Paul-Boncour of France and Benes
OF Czechosloyakia. ridiculed the Rus
sian proposition as utterly impracti-
cal and said 1t had been proposed by
Norway in 1922, discussed and found
unworkable. Both those delegates
and Doctor Louden of Holland, the
chairman, asserted that the league
had decided that security must be
linked with disarmament and that the
commissions precise job at this time
was to name subcommittee to bring
about that coordination. Paul-Bon-
cour especially dwelt on the theme
that total disarmament without inter-
national pacts guaranteeing security
is impossible, iand reiterated the old
demands for a powerful league army.
Count Won Bernstorff in a general
way supported the Russian plan,
though he did not look pleased when
Litvinoff proposed the\ scrapping of
chemical factories. Finally it was de-
cided that at the second reading of
the draft of the disarmament plan,
adopted at the last meeting, the So
viets might move to have portions of
their scheme examined.
It was announced that neither the
United States nor Russia would be
represented on the subcommission on
security. Hugh Wilson, American min
lister to Berne, representing the United
States in the conference, said: "The
American attitude is simple, and con-
sists Of our intention to leave to the
European states those matters Pc.
culiarly their own concern"
MEMBERS of the League of Ma
LV1 lions council gathered in Geneva
for a session that promised to be live
ly, with the Polish-Lithuanian quarrel
aud the trouble over the Italo-Al-
bantam and the French-Yugo-S lavian
treaties to be handled Premier Mus
solini once more virtually defied the
league with the announcement that
italy intended at all costs to keep the
Adriatic an italian sea. He scoffed
at the Serbian suggestion that the
league refuse to register the Italo-Al-
bantam pact.
1.-THE league has bureaucratic
function Of registration, and no po-
litical Jurisdiction which would nee
essarily affect the independence Of
single nations" he declared. "If such
precedent were created all the trea-
ties concluded by the powers since
1919, many Of which are of mill
tary character. would have to be re-
examined"