Evening star., 1933-06-11
HOPES FOR SUCCESS SLIGHT
AT ECONOMIC CONFERENCE
Best Chance Seems to Be Short Session,
Long Adjournment and Reassem-
bling Near Close of Year.

| notoriously divided with the high tar
if Tories patiently gaining ground
Since, also, Roosevelt's hands were NOR
or less tied by congressional ATTITUDES
in the matter of debts and tariffs, tn,
problem of reaching definitive decisions
| was manifest.
Looking back over the period since
March 4, too, it Is hard to escape the
conviction that the administration
| American position in the world, mis-.
| interpreted the realities of the debt
question and proceeded as If it hat
only to call the tune abroad to sci
the statesmen of other countries to
dancing. In the Warm Springs perioc
which preceded the Inauguration there
, was much loose talk in the entourage
of the President-elect about the neces-
sity of playing poker with Europe and
an assurance of winning which was
not little naive.
Some attributed to Mr. Hoover the
grim comment, after one of his talks
with his successor: He still seems to
think the war debts are assets" and
it is at least clear that the brain
trust gave every indication of such a
conviction. In any event, it is certain
that there was conviction that the
OF foreign negotiations and not of do
mestic education.
The truth, as expressed recently by a
famous diplomat in Washington, seems
to be that negotiations at London have
been made difficult If not impossible
by the fact that at the moment Britain
and the United States have become abb
sorbed in playing with two toys-for
the British protection and for the
United States imitation As conse-
quence, both regard with measure of
impatience any suggestion of modifying
their present ideas or sacrificing their
present an1uSements
No Show Of Agreement.
In short, the London Conference Of
Economics, like the Geneva Conference
on Disarmament two years ago, begins
without the smallest show of basic
agreement or preliminary understand
ing between the more considerable
countries. All recognize the necessity
to arrest the present disintegrating
tendencies in international finance and
commerce, which have had disastrous
domestic repercussions.
But not only is there no prepara-
tory agreement between governments,
but within governments in Britain.
France and the United States there
are vast areas Of disagreement and
even Of dispute. And it was under
similar conditions that the Geneva af-
fair instantly begged down into a
battle between the purely domestic
programs of various countries, which
each endeavored to impose as an in
ternational agreement.
Already we have. had at least one
crrn acfi 1f Do,
trust" speaking in striking disagree
ment with his nominal chief, the titu-
lar Secretary Of State, that the main
business Is domestic and the solution
OF the American problem Is to 'go ma
tive" In the same fashion there have
been intimations that If the Disarma-
ment Conference does not accept the
Rooseveltian offers as a basis for agree
ment the United States will again re-
tire from Europe.
In both cases 1t is little hard to
calculate how much of such state
ments results from the professional
idea of poker playing and the academic
appraisal Of the value of the "bluff."
ington has officially begun to discount
the London conference to an extent
which is significant.
Looking back over the long and un-
inspiring history of international con-
ferences during the past Is years it is
hard to recall single meeting. with
the possible exception of the Genoa
gathering of 1922, which was worse
prepared-or rather less prepared-or
where the extent of basic differences
between considerable nations was
greater. In fact, the best hope today
seems to be brief session, say of six
weeks long adjournment, say of six
months, and reassembling toward the
close of the year.
BY that time perhaps, debt agree
ments can be sketched, the extent of
imitation charted, the semblance of a
political truce on the continent
achieved And without these London,
like Geneva in the Arms Conference,
will find itself-after the first deluge
Of eloquence-halted permanently.
fConyriQht 102QN