Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-01
EUROPE WANTS u. S. LEAD
In DISARMAMENT FARLEY
Without Strong American Role at Geneva
Nations Fear Accomplishment
Will Be Negligible.
BY FRANK n. sIMoNDs.

~ ENEVA.-How great a role Is
the United States prepared to
n play in the League Disarma-
~ ment Conference of next year?
This is the question eagerly
asked of all Americans, not alone in
Geneva but all over the continent. And
the question itself discloses the great
and universal skepticisn and apprehen-
| sion that have been awakened by the
decision to fix the date for such an
international gathering.
Success for a conference without de-
cisive American intervention Is every
where regarded as out of the question,
for the simple reason that Europe has
| in the past two years reverted TO the old
pre-war separation into groups and alli-
ances, and as consequence interna-
tional gatherings have degenerated into
struggles for prestige between opposed
| groups of rival powers. No matter
whether the problem under considera-
ton concerns economies. ornaments or
lar less considerable issues, every con-
tinental statesman is condemned in adj
! protect some special interest of his
country.
In such an atmosphere disarma-
! ment conference must in the nature of
| things open the way to endless strug-
| giles between groups and nations. A sim
gle detail may serve to illuminate this
situation. In recent years France,
alarmed by the hostility of Fascist Italy
and the evident possibility of an even
tual Italo-G erman combination, has ex-
! pended many hundreds of millions of
dollars in fortifying both her German
and Italian frontiers against the danger
Of war on two fronts.
Would Destroy Defenses.
Now from Italy comes the proposal,
| naturally welcomed in Germany, that
the first step In effective disarmament
shall be the establishing of a demili-
tarized zone on both. sides of all from
| tiers, zone just deep enough to in
yolve the destruction of all the elabo-
rate and intricate system of defenses
France has constructed.
Since Germany Is forbidden by
treaty to construct Notifications at her
French frontier, and Italy lacks the
necessary money to initiate France, II
is clear that this proposal aims at a
unilateral disarmament, which would
naturally find no favor with the French
And in precisely the same way Italy
which cannot build to parity with
France on the sea, seeks TO bring about
a reduction of French tonnage levels
| to a point which would place Italy
within striking distance.
BY contrast France and her allies
stand just as firmly on the thesis that
before there can be any real reduction
OF armies there must be a political
agreement binding all powers to accept
their existing frontiers, and each to
| share in a punitive action against any
aggressor country. But such an agree
ment would automatically deprive
Germany of all chance of ever recover
ing the territories lost by the war, and
now the basis of claims for revision
of the peace treaties. Obviously, the
Germans will refuse any such demand.
Proposal Of Soviet.
Meantime Soviet Russia came for
ward two years ago with the simple
project that the way to disarm Is to
disarm, to demobilize armies and
abolish fleets. But this, in turn. Is
merely a detail in the Bolshevist pro-
gram, which aims at producing revoIu-