Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-25
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

ganization as a result Of the Versailles
by America to disarm her rivals, but
is unable to do so without backhand-
ed slam at the sincerity of America and
our unseldsh motives, for in the next
paragraph she sees as an Interior
motive our commercial instincts" of de-
string peaceful ocean and a peaceful
market wherein We may trade and &C
cumulate wealth.
The height Of meanness of old was
expressed in the act of looking a gift
horse in the mouth" The Nation which
took the initiative In outlawing war,
such as the Kaiser waged, Is now
charged with doing so In order to make
money out Of world peace! Beat it?
Italy-that Fascist nation which to-
day openly plots within her own domain
to enhance her military and naval pow
er that she may take her place In the
sum-" left vacant by one Kaiser VIII
helm-grows sarcastic over the whole
matter. She was cynical as to the KEEL
logg-Briand treaty outlawing war. Her
leading newspaper, the Osservatore, re-
marks:
ut is true that the outlawing Of war
0OCS AAJb A4CNCo00A LAY t11C CI4O Va OLA
wars, as the condemnation of slavery
has not meant the abolition of all forms
of compUlsion Of the weaker by the
stronger. But to consider war as a
crime, as slavery Is a crime, to consider
peace is an basolute necessity, Is to de-
termine new relations and to introduce a
new era in the field of international
affairs and justice"
Another Italian paper Is even more
sarcastic, in its illusions to the United
States as Estate which madly heads
all others in the race Of ornaments" It
says:
america is ready to make in1por-
tant concessions In land ornaments.
This Is quite natural, just as Switzer-
land. which has no navy. is ready to
make important concessions In naval
ornaments. But Mr.. Gibson also said
that no nation must have more pow
erful fleet than America. either in to-
category. Having made this point
clear, other nations can study dis
armament. There Is nobody who does
not know how insincere this doctrine
is"
Sneering at our readiness to reduce
our land ornaments? Why? What
other nation has suffered more through
weakness of her land defenses? Ma
poleon invaded Russia-but was driven
back. The King of Prussia invaded
France and captured her capital In
1S70-but did not burn 1t. Great Brit
ian invaded the United States in the
war of 1812--and burned our Capitol
and White Hcuse-because our FORE
fathers had been Indifferent to land de-
lenses. Shall we never read history,
but always be put with Switzerland's
navy" even as to our home defenses?
Yet we offer to reduce all ornaments
learned her lesson after Napoleon had
crossed her Alps, but America Is still
to be measured by Switzerland's alleged
"navy"-the butt of scorn.
Yet no critic has undertaken to give
any sort Of argument as to why Mr..
Gibson is wrong in declaring that no
ration-Great Britain ncluded-should
have a navy stronger than that of the
United States-the wealthiest power on
earth, therefore the one having most
at stake to defend against pirates and
naval enemies.
It will be recalled that when the
Disarmament Conference was held in
Washington, in 1921, Secretary Of State
Hughes filled the nations with great
enthusiasm over his frank proposal to
reduce navies. Everybody was thrilled
with Americas offer to scrap ships
which were on the stays almost ready
to launch. The applause was still ring
ing when America actually did scrap
millions of dollars worth Of new YES
sells Of defense, and other nations, car
rying out the alleged agreement, actu-
ally scrapped-blue prints.
VIII that lesson be repeated now?
viii the applause of the Gibson speech
the voice Of President Hoover-drown
the issue in actual reduction? Ger
many predicts that Great Britain viii
say nothing definite pending her
election, which Is now interesting the
politicians. France will urge agree
ment for further concessions on what
she owes us, since her naivete betrays
her full expectation that we must
cancel more debts If she agrees to save
money on her military and naval
establishments.
Az for Soviet Russia, she has Moth
Ing to lose, whichever way the discus
sion ranges, for. with MacaiaYelian cun-
seas j ~ -s 4.