Evening star., 1933-04-09


ing Of the preparations now
rapidly proceeding for British, French,
American and probably also German
and Italian conversations In the Capital
of the United States toward the end Of
April, with President Roosevelt speak
ing for the United States, Prime MID
lister Ramsay Macdonald for Great
Britain and perhaps Premier Edouard
Daladier or former Premier Edouard
Herriot for France.
Whatever is discussed and in what
ever order. the real aim will be to find
a basis among the principal powers
for constructive common efforts toward
the establishment of the worlds
political stability and prosperity.
The talks which Norman H. Davis,
special envoy of President Roosevelt,
has had in London and Paris and Will
begin tonight in Berlin, have been
mainly exploratory and informatory.
They serve the purpose OF preparing
those other and far more important
talks which will be held in Washington
Davis, while he has explained as lar
as he has been able to the American
viewpoint. has as yet done no genuine
negotiating and made no proposals or
promises He has simply devoted him
self to understanding the various
phases of the complex situation and to
seeking means of rendering easier some
sort of later agreement
It Is President Roosevelt himself who
will do the real negotiating on the
American side. The American PreS-
ident and the foreign premiers GER
tainly will not enter into the details Oh
the worlds difficulties. The details
will be left to experts and diplomats.
But they will seemingly endeavor,
nevertheless, to reach some board prin-
ciples of agreement The fundamental
problem, it appears, will be one of max
ing political and economic peace. The
hate propaganda and the war tension
must be stopped or financial and COM
mercial reconstruction will be impos-
sible, for fear will keep capital in hid
ing, obStruct trade and interfere with
the normal flow of goods and credit.
Then the excessive and constantly
increasing trade and exchange restric-
tions behind which each country IS
shutting itself off from the rest of the
world to its own and the general detrl-
ment, must somehow be broken down
or trade cannot be revived anc the
lack of broader demand will obstruct
any normal rise Of prices.
1t Is difficult to say which of these
two wars, the political or the economic,
is doing the most harm, for they are
interactive and each contributes to
make the other more intense.
On the political side it is obviously
the subject of disarmament in which
all the countries, including the United
States, are directly interested and
which will furnish the framework for
the discussions. Only by reaching a
general disarmament treaty, in which
there will be no victors and no van
| quished, but all will find their due
measure of fair treatment and assur-
ances Of future security, can political
peace be made, it is asserted.
The powers assembled at Washington
may, therefore, well make pledge to
concert their efforts along certain we'll
defined lines to this end.
| Whether Italian Premier Benito Mus
solini's four-power pact proposal for
treaty revision will also be discussed is
not certain. 1t is possible that the oc-
caSion will be taken, in the name Of
peace and disarmament, to ask the re-
visionist powers the questions which
Daladier raised in the French Chamber
of Deputies with such emphasis
namely:
"Just what revisions are proposed?
What frontiers? May not the word
revision thus suddenly be injected into
|
those of international justice? May 1t
not also cloak mere hatred and greed
under the flag of peace? May it not
actually lead to WARP"
Probably, however, even before Mac
Donald sails, new French memoran-
dunn on the Italian proposal will be
circulated and discussed, and this issue
of revision will already have entered
some new phase.
On the economic side, experts agreed
long ago that what is necessary. They
enumerated the following problems:
A new settlement of intergovernmental
debts.
Speedy de facto stabilization of cur
rencies at appropriate levels, followed
by the restoration of the free gold
standard and the abolition of foreign
exchange restrictions.
Cooperation OF the central banks tr
credit policy.