Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-22
BUDGET LIMITATION
HELD ARMS CURE.
British Note to League Pub.
lished as Preliminary to Dis
armament Conference.
tContinued From First Page.l


tually going to be held, according to
careful inquiries made In London, Paris
and Geneva. There Is still the possible
fly Of q decision for postponement when
the Assembly Of the League of Nations
meets in September, but It is considered
extremely unlikely.
Although the Franco-Ttalian naval
dispute is still unsettled, although Ger
many maintains its refusal to accept the
preparatory commissions draft treaty
as the basis for discussion and although
technical difficulties of all sorts are adj
inittedly tremendous the leaders of the
principal powers, including France, the
United States and Great Britain, seem
now resigned to the necessity Of holding
the conference without more delay and
eli are making plans accordingly.
New Building Being Erected
Beside the League of Nations secre-
tariat at Geneva, q new building Is be.
ing hastily erected. It will be connected
with the Secretariat and win be COM
posed entirely Of committee rooms.
Space In Geneva hotels, and even apart
ment buildings, Is already being re-
served, for it is said In League of Ma
tons circles that the conference viii
last nine months.
preparation on the part Of some lead
ing power Is reported. Within the last
week the German general. Hans Won
Seek has publicly reiterated the Ger
man thesis that unless the other powers
disarm to the German level Germany
automatically acquires the right to re-
arm to theirs, thus threatening 10 turn
the, meeting from disarmament TO .
Tearmament conference.
And Japan, in o memorandum to the
League Of Nations, has joined the
s'can't possibly reduce further" club, Of
which Great Britain and France are ale
ready prominent members. Japan
makes its reduction contingent ON "se-
curity," as the French do, and the Jap.
anese minister Of war, Gen. Jtro MI
Mani, has just observed In . speech
that, on regarding other countries
calmly, he notices mot one OF them
seems ready to take the initiative In
reducing its own ornaments"
U. s. Attitude Surprises.
Ohicial suggestions made in WASH
ington that the conference win be de-
voted mainly to land arunauents. and
that hence the United States Is not d.
rectly, but merely benevolently inter-
ested, are received with establishment at
Geneva.
It IS explained there that the. con-
ference viii be divided into i've great
sections. in each Of which the United
states win be expected TO take active
part. These sections are: ~ Land
forces. (2) sea forces, CD air forces,
al armament budgets and (5l po-
1itical pacts, or understandings. D
Among the drastic proposals already
seriously mooted are complete aboli-
tion Of capital ships, heavy artillery,
submarines and military aviation.
As TO what the conference can nope
20 accomplish, there Is Q good deal Of
elepticism IN wen informed circles,
where it IL suggested that the public
thus far has little conception OF the
complications Of the subject.
Many Cofhpas2Eions Seem
some Of these complications are as
|. Many countries vim not accept
their present. axtnamef1ts as suitable
T Sdtts fhe.r nsiei,bOras In ssabi ling
armanent& which i the very least the
conference could do and stin claim
success. this question Of ratios, tnvolv-
dng, IS IL does, national pride ant
prestige, as well as actual problems ~
defense, might even ef1venonn, ratasT
than heal, international feeling.
2. Owing TO their different geo.
graphical situations, their varying
wealth and natural resources, their
colonies or lack Of colonies. their nat
uraliy exposed or naturally protected
frontiers, no two nations have exactly
the same problems Of national defense
and their ornaments, therefore, are
not strictly comparable.
g. No good way has been found Of
1nsurtng by international supervision
that agreements win be honestly kept.
The only guaranty acceptable e good
faith, for no country win tolerate for
eizn investigators. But In times Of tn
ternational friction history shows that
aggrieved states have always felt they
have been morally JUSTIFIED in surrept-
tiously breaking both the letter and
spiri TOT agreements which have become
unpopular.
No Way to Limit Material.
4. No way has been found to limit
war material. States lacking war in
dustries tend to lay In big stocks, while
stocks down to the minimum and sub
ssdize factories in preparation for in
slant industrial transformation and
mobilization IN case Of war.
5. Existing armies are not comparable.
Some are professional, some conscript,
some mixed. Some are supplemented
by militia, others by former conscrtpts
or semi-odicial training organizations.
The line between police and soldiers In
some countries Is not clear. Some states
have colonial forces, both regular and
irregular. others not.
The actual value Of these different
types OF soldiers Is widely disparaged.
No yardstick for measuring this value
has been found. And how establish the
proper proportions between cavalry and
infantry and artillery and between
mechanical and unrnechanized armies?
8. The naval problem Is that OF
adapting the Washington and London
treaties to all the maritime powers.
The failure Ct the Rome conference,
held for this purpose few years ago,
and the failure Of repeated efforts 10
get France and Italy into the London
treaty on terms acceptable 70 Great
Brain sufficiently indicate how hard
this Is likely 70 be.
Aviation Subsidized.
T. Regarding the air force, most Of
the big powers subsidize commercial
aviation Commercial airplanes can be
transformed overnight for purposes Of
observation and bombing. The only
type Of military plane which cannot be
inprovised Is the Dc-called fighting or
pursuit plane. But the pursuit plane Is
purely defensive. Its object Is to keep
away bornbers and observers. To re-
strict commercial aviation would be con-
trary to general progress and to reduce OF
abolish fighting planes would be 70 re-
move the best defense against CONNER
cial planes transformed into bombers or
observers.
g. For all the foregoing reasons and
many others, most Of the students Of
the subject are now agreed that the
most practical, II not, indeed, the only
method Of limiting ornaments Is BY
the budgetaTy method. This also Il
open TO many objections
All the States "A not recLEnEl The earna