Evening star., 1932-02-14
LEACUEP POWER TO HALT
WAR FACES FIRST TEST
World Watching Actions of Full Assem-
bly,, With Future Peace Declared
to Be in Balance.

artillery. both sea and land bombing
planes and tanks.
Like nearly every other method of
disarmament, this method Is open to
many objections Experts nearly all
agree that the alleged distinction be-
tween offensive and defensive weapons
is entirely arbitrary. Even the simile
of bayonetS Is offense, If you charge
another man Herewith, and defensive
If he is charging on yours. All weapons
sive: as a means of repelling an in
vasion they are defensive.
Defense at Sea.
Defense at sea means ultimately de-
fense of ones sea- borne commerce, and
this in wartime depends upon defeat
ing the enemy's fleet. Bombing planes
are offensive over another's territory
and defensive if used to repel invaders.
Prohibitions of certain weapons, say
experts. tend to create the illusion that
war can be made less terrible. What
Is required Is to end war. not to try to
humanize 1t. At the beginning of the
American Civil War. it is pointed out,
both the North and the South were
oisarmed, yet the war continued and
was one OF the worst in history. There
is doubt whether prohibitions agreed
to in treaty will be observed in war
Inc Japanese in speech here
favored the protection OF the civilian
population from bombing. yet at the
very moment of speaking they were
butchering hundreds OF helpless Chi
nese men, women and children with air
bombs
One OF the European delegates has
unearthed the curious fact that the
Roman Catholic Church at the Lateran
Council of 1139 in Rome declared
anathema on all who used the new
type of long. hard arrows just then in
vented. These arrows we're declared
contrary to the divine law of equal
chances because they could strike down
a knight from ambush as much as so
yards away.
Anathema in those days was dreadful
punishment before which even Kings
quailed, yet the new arrows continued
to be made and the knights in conse-
quence had to adopt heavy armor.
Weaken Industrial Nations.
Finally these prohibitions, it is said,
if observed, tend to weaken the indus
trial in the face of nonindustrial ma
tions. If not observed they give undue
advantage to industrial nations. which
can manufacture prohibited arms while
others cannot. For this reason, 1t Is
feared, the prohibitions will tend to
keep tariffs in countries which are try
ing to develop potential war industries.
Despite these numerous objections in
dications are that, provided the nations
can agree on what to prohibit, some
important prohibitions or additions will
be made here, for the public opinion
- NJ
want to make political capital thereof
and everybody wants to save money on
more expensive sorts of equipment.
Following Germanys lead, there is a
tendency among industrial countries to-
day to put money into subSidizing po-
tential war industries rather than into
costly weapons which may be outmoded
or averaged before they are ever needed.
Real Peace Declared Necessary.
The principal delegates here, while
extolling the idea of abolition Of Of
fensive armaments, admit privately
that distinctions are arbitrary and ad-
NIT also that if the conference finally
succeeds it will be because. under the
cover of disarmament occasion Is taken
to make real peace in both Asia and
Europe
They fully realize that, unless and
until peace is made-that is to say, as
long as tension and suspicion remain
paramount-the nations will haggle so
over details that no technical arrange
ments will ever be reached. If, how
ever, peace could be made. then dis
armament would be relatively easy.
1t is, therefore, as a means to pro-
noting peace-in particular, peace
which is so essential between France
and Germahy-that the subject of
additions is being studied by some Of
the delegates.
1t will be recalled that the arms
which it is suggested now should be
prohibited to all were already pro-
hibited to Germany by the Versailles
treaty. At the time this was done, not
as an ideal plan for disarmament, but
to weaken Germany while leaving the
allies strong. Now, however. Germany
claims that either the others must
abolish these weapons or Germany
must regain the right to possess them.
The French have only gone half
way to meet Germany on this point
by implying that Germany may have
these weapons if it declares that it is
ready. like France, to hold them at the
disposition of the League of Nations
and other powers. However. they pre-
fer to abolish them altogether rather
than see Germany rearm. This is the
real interest of additions and prohi-
bitionS, as far as 1t concerns this
Franco-German peace problem, which,
indeed, is declared to underlie much
Of the worlds present unrest.
Copyright. 1927