New Britain herald., 1929-09-23
Hoover-MacDonald Disarmament
 Project Threatened By Attitude
 Of France On Five-Power Farley
Gaic Republic Insists Conference Would Be Only Pre- limnary to General Meeting Under League
 Auspces-Anglo-Am American Alliance Seen
RV tla \ ssnciated press

By the Associated Press
 The dance Of disarmament is be- ginning in earnest, and Prime Min istcr Macdonald, sailing from Eng land on September 2S to visit prtsi- dent Hoover in Washington, may find that the road 10 international reduction of armaments is longer and rougher than the journey across th" Atlantic.
 With Great Britain and the Unit cd States separated by small mar gin on agreement on their resp"c- tive naval forces, France made plain last week that the work of the five power conference which is at the hack of the minds of the statosmeD at Washington will not be easy.
 France placed the League Of Ma tons squarely in the path of tuc American president and the British prime minister.
 Anything achieved at Washington. or at London later, if the five-powrr conference is held there next Janu- any, is for France but a step to- wards an international disarmament conference under the auspices of tht league. She would like this meeting to consider all armaments, air, and military as well as naval.
 The issues between the five i'm portant naval powers are many and complicated.
 Subs q Stumbling Block
 On the subject Of submarines where England and America aIcnc could swiftly reach an accord. France, Italy and to q less extent, Gapan, stand opposed 10 the Anglo- Saxon viewpoint. All three viii fight 10 keep their submarines.
 The matter of cruiser strength, thorniest of naval problems hitherto, is far from settled, even with the encouraging progress of the Anglo American conversations.
 Japan IS discroetiy reserved on the subject and seems 10 be holding back her best cards. Germany had new type of cruiser with 1l-inch guns which may provide other com plications.
 ForcSec Anelo-T. s. Alliance
 French newspapers asked pointed ly whether the AnglO-American nav al negotiations did not mask a more extensive movement for Anglo Saxon supremacy by alliance.
 The powers followed with interest the American senates Investigating the activities of W. B. Shearer at previous disarmament meetings.
 Through this maze of conflicting interests the worlds statesmen mIst pick their difficult way, and to some Geneva.
 Modernizing Covenant
 In the capital of the League of Nations, three important topics were debated last week.
 A committee of l was appointed to report to the 1lth assembly on bringing the covenant of tho league into harmony with the Kellogg Briand pact outlaWing war. This is the first step towards what Foreign Secretary Henderson of England de- scribed as 'cutting the dead wood out of the covcnant.'
 A program comprising five success SlVe steps was arranged for the pro- posed world economic conference, which is designed to lower interna- tional tariff barriers and is open to the United States and other non members of the league.
 France and England clashcd in inc disarmament committee when Lord Cecil brought up the limita- ton Of trained army reserves, of which France is very touchy. The dispute. tiaring up briefly, was 1e- gently buried in a compromise res oluton which postponed a decision.
 Great Britain, France, Czechoslo- Vakia. Peru, India, South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand signed the optional clause Of the world court statute, accepting compulsory arbitration of the court.
 Evacuation Is Begun
 Meanwhile, history was being made in the Rhincland where Brit ish troops began the evacuation which, by next June, will have TO-