Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-03-09
Disarmament's Rocky Road.

Prime Minister Macdonald and For.
eign Secretary Simon are insconference
with Premier Deladier at Paris today
bent upon a desperate eleventh hour
Anglo American effort to rescue the &C.
neva Disarmament Conference from
definite demise.
That thirteen month-old international
conversation in reality gave up the
ghost. unnoticed by the world ut large,
on March 1. when the famous arms
truce" renewed for another four months
when it expired on November /. 1881.
came to An end Both the original
truce, the device of then Foreign Min
lister Grandi Of italy, and It's extension
were conceived IN the illusory hope Of
providing . proper atmosphere" for
disarmament discussion. Geneva, since
February. 1892, when the conference
opened. has proved TO be surcharged
only with an atmosphere Of diseord, de-
lay and. finally. disappointment.
The British ministers, who will pro-
coed to Geneva after comforting with the
French government. have, of course. no
hope of galvanizing the arms confer
ence suddenly with life enough to spur
it into action and agreement. The
most that lo-French diplomatic in
genuity hopes to accomplish Is to bring
about some scheme Of recess. adjourn
ment or postponement which will per-
nit the fiction that Geneva has not
wholly passed out. There Is an ancient
English witticism about q deceased per-
son who was pronounced dead, but not
quite dead" Messrs Macdonald, Simon
and Deladier are constrained to have 1t
proclaimed that this disarmament con-
ference Is not quite dead
They have an important and imme-
date purpose In preserving, at least
the facade of internationalism. The
World Economic Conference Is just
around the corner. To have 1t meet
in the shadow of complete and in
dubitable fiasco at Geneva might con-
denim the economic parley to failure
before it ever began. As an arms
truce" was deemed necessary to create
proper atmosphere" for Geneva, 20 4
continuation of that abortive affair in
some guise, however tenuous, Is now
deemed psychologically essential. 1t
will be q slender enough reed for the
economic conference to lean on. but
1t may prove an adequate prop. HALF .
loaf Of even seeming international CO.
operation Is better than no bread OF
solidarity.
Beyond peradventure Of . doubt, the
two DEVELOPMENTS which mainly sealed
the doom Of disarmament at Geneva
were the Japanese aggression In Man.
churia and the rise Of militant ma
tionalism IN Germany. The spectacle
Of one Of the worlds great military and
naval powers riding roushshod over 4
virtually defenseless neighbor, and in
violation Of the most sacred interna-
tional treaties, was Of itself m event
designed to give other nations. large
and small, pause when they were asked
to curtail their respective defensive e.
Adjustments. Then came the direct
and defiant threat to the peace OF Eu-
rope, personiied by the triumph Of
Hitlerism, with its avowed purpose OF
German disruption OF the treaty d
Versailles, which. despite It's acknowl-
edged inequities. yet remains the post
war law Of the Old World.
The cause Of disarmament has not
been wrecked by any weakness inherent
IN itself 1t lies PROSTATE today BE-
cause force and violence, east and
west, are still unbridled in the world
requiring the nations everywhere to
remain on what George Washington
called - respectable defensive pos
ture." If they would safeguard their
rights, their territory and their sacred
honor.
The American people retain their
allegiance to the principle of disarma-
ment. They are not blind to the con-
ditions which consign 1t, for the time
being, to the realm Of Impractical
idealism.