Evening star., 1931-12-24
BRITAIN FAILS
TO DELAY PARLEY
Feels Present Inauspicious
Circumstances Will Injure
Cause of Disarmament.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.

BY Cable to The Star.
PARIS, France, December 24.-Great
Britain's latest and most serious efforts
to get the General Disarmament Con-
ference scheduled for February post
poned appear to have completely failed.
These efforts, IL is generally recog-
nized, were due not to the British de-
sire to delay disarmament, but on the
contrary, to the British feeling that to
hold the conference in the present in
auspicious circumstances would do per-
haps permanent injury to the cause of
disarmament.
However it is evident that Great
Britain itself is disinclined to take the
responsibility OF formally proposing
postponement. British diplomacy there
fore has been sounding out other pow
ers with the view of possibly persuad-
ing them to make this proposal, which,
it is thought, would then be quickly
supported.
Great Britains first idea seems to
have been that Germany might take
the lead. Some three weeks ago arti-
cles began to appear in certain of the
more liberal German newspapers sug-
gesting this postponement. But the
German government seems to want the
conference to be held as scheduled at
Geneva, February 2 and the incipient
press campaign subsided.
Toxic Delegation on Way.
Knowing that neither the United
States nor France nor Italy was de-
sirous of suggesting this postpone
ment, Great Britain now tried Japan,
whose new Conservative government is
thought to be firmly opposed to reduc-
tions of ornaments or of its military
budget. A note was sent to Toxic
December IT intimating indirectly that
Japan has replied that it is willing to
delay it few weeks if the others wish,
but that its delegation to the confer
ence has already sailed and expects to
be in Geneva in January.
The affair Is thus seemingly settled.
The discussion surrounding it, how
ever, has brought out several interest
ing points of difference in the French
and British views. British newspapers.
like the London Times and the London
Daily Telegraph, give the following rea-
sons in favor Of postponement.
The governmental Conference on
War Debts and Preparations is going
to begin in January and will, there
fore, overlap the Disarmament Con-
ference.
Atmosphere Is Unpropitious.
With the Franco-Italian naval dis
pute unsettled, with tension between
France and Germany and the posi-
bility of Adolf Hitler's taking power in
Germany, and with elections in Ger
many in March and May and elections
in France in May, the international
atmosphere is unpropitious.
The Manchurian affair is still trouble
some, and popular confidence in the
League Of Nations as a result of its
handling Of this affair is greatly dimin-
ished.
Finally, the conference is said to be
insufficiently prepared.
The Daily Telegraph even adds that
the costs involved In the present time
of depression will be extravagant-
namely, an 100000 supplementary
charge on the League budget and some
S5,OOO0O0 in expenditures by the dele
cations.
Final Settlement Impossible
To all this the French press replies;
The reparations conference will be
brief because the attitude of the Ameri-
can Congress makes a final settlement
now impossible,
The international atmosphere admit
tedly is bad, but disarmament is not
matter of atmosphere, but of doctrine.
and this can be discussed now as well
as at any other time.
The conference is unprepared, but
| this is the fault of its chairman for
mer British Foreign Minister Arthur
Henderson, of whom 1t was known for
months that he was to preside.
In any case. postponement of few
week, as suggested in the British
japanese talks, would be quite useless.
Ali this does not mean that France is
, eager to disarrn, but simply that France
feels that the affair must be gone
| through with and that this is as good
time as any-perhaps. from the
French viewpoint. the best possible
time.
France Prepares Arguments.
France intends to make disarma-
ment depend on the conclusion of def
mite regional security agreements and
considers that the Manchurian affair
definitely proves its point that existing
peace pacts give no real security
Some Of the best political and tech
nical minds of France have been work
ing steadily on the preparation Of the
French case during the last four
months. 1t is understood that they are
not only armed on all sorts of sta
tistics and arguments, but also with
series of definite proposals which, they
hope, will form the basis Of the con-
ference's deliberations.
Incidentally, the Paris newspaper
Journal des Debats reveals that if Ger
many cites its alleged right under the
treaty to demand general disarmament
and declares that otherwise it intends
to rearm itself, France will demand
an inquiry into the present. state OF
German ornaments with view to es-
tablishing whether Germany has not
been Systematically violating the treaty.
(copyrisht. le3lD