Evening star., 1932-02-28
EUROPEAN IMPASSE CLEAR
AT GENEVA ARMS PARLEY
Conference May Be Pictured as Success,
But Observer Sees Little Hope
i'm Present Deadlock.

indefinite period close the door to ter
ritorial revision.
Now on the margin of these two
quarreling groups are the Anglo-Saxon
nations and certain states that were
neutral in the Great War. All of these
peoples are eager for disarmament and
peace. They are not concerned in the
least with the outcome of the con-
tinental struggle. What they are
anxious about is for some adjustment
between France and Germany which
will remove the present political ten
sion in Europe, and beyond that they
seek to contribute in bringing down
the vast costs of armament and the
removal Of the peril to peace which
these ornaments must eventually con-
stitute.
But SO far the Anglo-Saxon powers
have been faced with the alternative
of accepting the French thesis of join
ing in the forcible guarantee Of the
status quo through Tardieu'S formula
| for the League of Nations or of sup
porting Germany in her program for
the removal of all limitations placed
on her by the peace treaties and COM
pelling France and her allies to submit
| policies. The difficulty lies in the fact
not to guarantee the status quo and
| haven't the means of bringing pressure
to bear upon France to modify her
policies.
| Britain and u. S. Helpless.
Now while there has been an enor-
nous flow of oratory and recommen-
dationS and maneuvering during recent
weeks, the net result of the conference
| - -aaAz l. o. hnf
and her allies are anchored in their
position, Germany and her associates
are uncompromising in their demands
and the Anglo-Saxon nations are
equally unwilling to join France and un-
able to coerce her. Thus America and
Britain have been helpless and re-
main so. They have all the risks OF
the innocent bystander; and the chle1
of these risks is that both groups hold
them responsible for the lack OF ad-
justment.
In this situation it Is clear that under
the circumstances some wholly innocu-
Gus convention prohibiting the use OF
inhumane bombs and gas warfare might
be signed, that owing to the fall of
world commodity prices some reduction
in budgets might be agreed to which
would in fact leave the huge military
establishments of today undisturbed.
In a word, there are whole variety OF
devices which might be reSorted to in
order to disguise the actual failure.
Nevertheless, actual failure will result
! if no real reduction in the size and
costs of the armies and navies Is made
and no end placed to the present ten
sion, which gives Europe the appear
ance, to Americans at least, OF a vast
| insane asylum.
Az Iao% &c y,ro1{co1u uJ11at cfnrng
the conference in the face. Moreover,
since in all history no country has ever
voluntarily ceded its own citizens and
lands in order to satisfy claims OF It's
neighbors, there is now no possibility
that France and her associates Will
consent to the return of territory taken
by the treaty of Versailles from Ger
many And since Germany continues
to demand such territorial return as
condition of associating herself with her
former enemies, these nations won't
consent to reduce armies, which alone
insure the retention of these territories.
All of this was clear before the con-
ference assembled. 1t has been made
dcubly clear as the conference pro-
gressed. 1t Is all now tenfold apparent.
Since the conference has become dead
locked, all progress has been inter-
rupted, but what the American people
will now have to watch out for are the
inevitable attempts to give an air OF
success to a conference which has
failed, and thus for moment to dis
guise the actual situation.
That was what Woodrow Wilson at
tempted in behalf of the Paris Peace
Conference, what Charles Evans Hughes
attempted at the Washington confer
ence, what President Hoover attempted
at the London conference. But the
failure to make peace at Paris is OBJ
viouS here today; the failure Of thS
Washington conference was disclosed
By the subsequent Anglo-American
naval disputes, and the failure Of the
London conference is proved by the
present Franco-Italian disputes, pre-
cluding all possible naval agreement,
and thus presaging inevitable recourse
TO the escalator clause.
Copyright. 1922