Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-09-25
British Cabinet Changes
And Cermany's Demands
BY A. G. GARDINER.

LONDON, September at is I'M
derstood here that Prime Minister RAM
say Macdonald has been privately in
formed Of the intention Of Sir Herbert
Samuel and the other orthodox mem
bers Of the Liberal group in the British
cabinet to resign. They will probably
be joined by Phillip Snowden, who
shares their view that the policy adopt
ed at Ottawa Is not merely fatal to the
interests of the country, but a breach
OF the understanding on which the ma
tional government was formed.
The retirement of the free traders
will involve the reconstruction of the
government and will go far toward de-
Stroying its claim of a national char
acter. For Macdonald. like Chancel-
lor Won Papen in Germany. does not
represent any serious voting power in
the country and Sir John Simon and
Sir Walter Runciman have been re-
pudiated by organized liberalism For
all practical purposes, the government
has become conservative, with Mac
Donald as q figurehead having no
political future beyond the existence of
the ministry.
The feeling of resentment in Liberal
and Labor circles in regard to the OF
tawa agreements has been aggravated
by dissatisfaction with the policy of the
government in regard to disarmament.
Foreign Minister Simons note to Ger
many has evoked an avalanche of
criticism from all quarters, and the Lon
don Spectator declared today that 1t Is
the most unfortunate document issued
from the foreign Office in four years. 1t
minS}eS the moralism of the pulpit
nf VI NJ
chancery and entirely misinterprets the
opinion Of this country.
The mind of the vast majority of the
British people Is made up that Ger
many cannot be held down by force.
cannot be treated Is years after the war
as conquered nation and cannot be
tied hand and foot in the matter of
ornaments while other countries are
Tree Conservative newspapers, like the
Times, Observer and Telegraph. are as
emphatic on this point as are the
liberal papers
Ii the country were consulted. an
would admit the justice of the German
claim to equality of ornaments, would
demand that equality be achieved. not
by rearmament by Germany. but by
the reduction of armament by other
countries, and would indorSe the plan
Of President Hoover as an earnest OF
the ultimate achievement of equality.
Such an attitude. it is argued. would be
assured of a wholehearted welcome in
the United States, in Italy, OF course in
Germany, and by all the smaller states
and the large section OF French opinion
which supported Edouard Herriot last
May.
Sir John Simon has returned to
Geneva, where the Assembly of the
League OF Nations opens Monday and
where the resumption of the DiSarma.
ment Conference is imminent. Dis
contented interests here urge that Mac
Donald exercise his whole authority in
order to restore the initiative at the
conference to this country. 1t is real
lied that profoundly critical STU
alton is developing. Germany will
rearm if the rest Of the world is not
prepared to meet her half way with a
substantial measure of disarmament.
MuSsolini has made it clear that he
will support her right to do so. France
and her allies would resist such a step
with every means, and a new balance
of power in Europe, with competitive
ornaments and the disintegration OF
the League Of Nations, is envisaged.
The alternative is a frank recogni-
ton of Germany's moral right to
equality and such a measure of dis
armament as will justify Europe in
forbidding Germany to rearm. The
peril of the situation is complicated
by the gravity of the development OF
the Manchurian situation, the imminent
action to be taken on the Lytton report
and the ominous declaration of the
Toxic authorities that the open door
to Manchukuo will be limited to coun-
tries automatically recognizing Japans
protege.
Europe cannot afford to be at skies
and sevens in the presence Of SO mo-
mentous a challenge in regard to the
whole future Of Asia. and the fate Of
civilization depends on the issue of the
Disarmament Conference. II that ends
in failure Europe will be in danger of
dissolution. Arthur Henderson has
forcibly warned the world of that
danger. and his former chief, Mac
Donald. cannot be unaware by how
much the fate of the conference hang,
on the attitude Of this country and
the urgency Of wiping out the disastrous
effect of the Simon note by bold initi-
alive along the lines suggested by Presi-
dent Hoover. Reconstruction of the
Government gives him an opportunity.
Copyright 1922