Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-19

The unpleasant odor of secrecy that
surrounded the alleged Anglo French
naval pact was sufficient to make the
failure of this proposed alliance well
come disaster from the standpoint OF
most American commentators. Some
chose to see in it an innocuous prelude
to further disarmament and scout at
the fears it raised.
IF one were to Judge by the outcries
and alarms, the thing was dark and
sinister throughout" says the New York
Times, which, however. finds 1t hard to
understand "how these suspicious and
fears could have persisted in England
after the public and official statement
which Lord Cushendun made to the
council of the League of Nations at
Geneva on August 80" The Times
points out that Lord Cushendun, lin
the most positive way, swept aside the
mass of rumor and protest which has
been thrown up about the so-calied
mystery"
The Kalamazoo Gazette feels that lit
Is difficult to say whether the abandon
ment of the reported understanding
should be welcomed or deplored by the
outside world. What information was
available regarding the agreement at
the time of its announcement by Sir
Austen Chamberlain" continues that
paper, indicated that the compact was
going to mark the end of the long and
seemingly hopeless differences between
France and Great Britain over the
question of mode of procedure for
naval arms reduction. We may
only hope that London and Paris will
yet be able to reach some common basis
of negotiation which will not prove
offensive to the United States"
Some Americans who had studied
the naval problem with broad per-
spective." according to the Springfield
Republican. were not disposed to worry
over the Anglo-French agreement. but
rather to feel that coming together of
Great Britain and France might, in the
end, he helpful to new naval treaty,
two powers which partially frustrated
the washington Naval Conference in
1921 1922"
Notwithstanding these views, the Bal
ClQOTe evening 0ul IlOlQS JL1dC, now.
ever innocuous it may be, the agreement
has served to raise an atmosphere of
suspicion at the very moment when the
Kellogg treaty was endeavoring to pro-
nounce spirit of peace and good will"
The New Orleans Item also thinks that
when friends on all hands are sup
posed to be comforting for peace as
against war. it is best for the world
that international understandings in
this field should be understood by every
body" and that England and France
were not the only ones concerned In
this secret agreement"
Perhaps the most important thing
that has brought London and Paris to
a decision to scrap the agreement" 1t is
suggested by the Buffalo Evening News.
"is the intimation that the plan is not
agreeable to Washington. Let
1t be hoped that this venture will mark
the end of secret diplomacy. II the
tentative engagement had to do only
with disarmament, there could be no
possible reason for secrecy. The habit
of concealment with regard to engage
ments of one power with another Is
highly dangerous. From 1t came the
catastrophe of 1914" The Minneapolis
Tribune believes that "a blunder was
committed" and that the incidents "fos-
ter the suspicion that the agreement
must have been poorly planned" while
1t expresses the hope that "the result of
the episode will convince the European