Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-05-04
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page -


Without knowing what the ultimate
results of the Washington converse
lions and the subsequent London con-
ference will be, one may be Justlned
in hailing American willingness to
help the rest of the world conquering
its difficulties, as the most promising
event of several years.
Disarmament.
Likewise, there is a tendency TO
make American participation in the
general disarmament efforts more ef-
fective than it has been before. and
Norman H. Davis, chief American
delegate at the Geneva conference,
is clearly one of the leaders OF the
discussion. He it was who the other
day turned the conference into peace
full channels when he stepped between
the French and the German delegates
as they INDUCED in an acrimonious
verbal clash, and reminded them that
matter as far-reaching as disarma-
ment must not be judged from mar
rowly nationalistic viewpoints.
But American disarmament policy
still suffers from a weakness that
binders actual progress. for the
United States says, in effect: we
will wait and see how far other ma
tions are prepared to go in the direc-
tion of reducing and limiting arma-
ments, and when that is clear. we
will state how far we will co.
! No doubt the great cause would
have been far more advanced than 1t
now is if the American position had
been reversed-if the United States
had come forward with a definite Of
fer and announced its readiness to
sacrifice specific numbers OF army Ell
fectives, specific tonnage of navy YES
sells, contingent on European willing
ness to disarm. AS one of the DOM
mating world powers America is in
position to take this very step, show
, the rest of the nations the one and
ments maze. But that step has not
yet been taken, and Europe looks
askance at the great western power
because it hesitates, and because its
annual military appropriations run
into many more millions of dollars
than those of any other single ma
, ton.
, MussOlini Plan.
AS time goes on, it becomes in
5 creasingly evident that genera
agreement to reduce armament offers
the only effective solution of inter
national problems, political as wei
as economic.
> Mussolinis and MacDonald's great
power plan, aiming at the preserva
ton of peace in Europe. seems tt
have no potency 1t is distrusted, as
all agreements within great powers
.. have come to be.
Also, the French opposition to the
.. plan has become more and more pro
nounced, first of all because the plar
!. rests on the theory that the Yer
sailles peace treaty must be revised
France will move heaven and eartf
, to avoid that revision, and so, clever
ly enough, uses smaller nations as
/, its shield. Poland, Czecho-Slovakia
Roumania and Jugoslavia are formu
lating-under French influence
Z what will become known as stauncf
= anti-revisionist program which NJ
e doubt will nullify the effects of an!
v plan such as the one drawn up b.
. the Italian and the British prime
= ministers.
: Horizon Over Asia.
/ Never has the need of a genera
t disarmament decision been more EN-
= phatic than just now, for any OBJ
- server can clearly see how the ira
= ditional enmity between France AM
e Germany-and the countries allied
respectively, with these two-deepen
II as the days go on. That's one thing
: Another is that things keep on stir
t ring in Asia, as most unpleasant
e reminder of dark possibilities. Japa
It and China apparently are still
odds, and bloodily so, and durin
these last few days new DANCE
element has entered into the situs
~ tion because Japan is accused Of hay
u ing confiscated a considerable pal
of the rolling stock belonging to tn
IL. jointly-owned Russian and Chimes
eastern railway.
ie Claims and counter claims are fl.
ing back and forth between Mosco
Ell and Tokyo, and while war threats al
disclaimed most theoretically, thel
. are always plenty of explosive poss
bilities in any-even the smallest
IL conflict between Russia and Japa
If the Briand-Kellogg treati