Evening star., 1933-10-21
UNITY CALLED ONLY
BASIS FOR PEACE
British Economist Declares
Arms Negotiations Should
Be Resumed.
BY SIR ARTHUR sALTER,

D1 SAAt hN4 SEAAA LAW
Member British Economic Advisory Council
By Radio to The Star.
LONDON, October 2l.-The program
evolved at the Paris Peace Conference
had not two. but three vital parts:
!. Disarmament of Germany.
2. General disarmament
8. Security for all of us, including
Germany, through the League Of Ma.
tionS.
It was realized that peace cannot be
based securely on the dominance Of one
country or an alliance of countries
Equal status and approximate equality
in ornaments among countries of COM
parable size and responsibilities Is in
evitable.
In a world which includes seven
great powers no country possibly can
make itself safe by its own armaments
and attempts to do so greatly increase
the danger Of all.
Unity Basis for Security.
The only possible basis for lasting
security therefore in the present world
is that each country shall be able to
rely on the help of others against ag-
gression.
This is the direct opposite of an al
lance system which means my friends
right or wrong" This means instead
Il have no enemies except those who
break the peace"
The fundamental reason for the
dominance" system lingering on dis
estrouSly is that the League, the "col-
lective system" has acquired too little
strength. And for this none of us is
free from responsibility. neither Great
Britain nor Germany.
The weakness OF the League Is not
Que to defects in its machinery or mis-
takes in its provisions. It is due to the
fact that governments have not sup
ported it sufficiently and have not
sought their own security through it.
Disaster liz Arms Lace.
1t is not by throwing ourselves vio-
1ently into one camp or the other and
it is not by inpotent isolation which
leaves us slave to events from whose
consequences we shall not escape, it is
only by a resolute return to the task of
rebuilding the collective system of peace
that we shall be able ultimately to es-
tablish peace and security.
The worst Of all possible courses
would be to restart the competition in
ornaments, drop negotiations and say,
We'll, if Germany rearnls, we must by
increasing our own armamentS at the
same time see that she doesn't improve
her relative position" That way lies
inevitable disaster and on the largest
scale.
Another conceivable course is collec-
tive restraint by economic pressure or
actual occupation before Germany has
rearmed sufficiently 10 enable her to
make resistance.
That would, il certain circumstances.
become necessary. But 1t would obV1-
ously create a situation Of gravest
danger both for the present and the
future-at best only less disastrous
than an armanents race resulting in
inevitable war On larger scale. And 1t
would be utterly unjustifiable unless and
until countries proposing to exercise the
pressure had first met by their own
disarmament proposals all that is just
in the German case. They are as yet
far from having done so.
NEGOTIATIONS must therefore be re-
sumed in whatever form is most prac-
ticable.
Notable Gesture of Friendship.
What have we to build on? If We
may take the German declarations at
their face value we have great deal.
would urge everybody to study care
fully the speeches Of Chancellor Hitler
and Foreign Minister Won NeuraIn.
These contain some things we may re-
gret, but they contain much more:
Apart from very strong assertion OF
desire for peace, there is a renuncla-
ton of any claim to Alsace-Lorralne,
notable gesture of friendship to France.
In addition there is the declaration
that Germany adheres to the British
draft convention of March. her oblec-
tons being to subsequent notifications
Of it. And then the Reich has com
mitted herself to make no claim to
any weapons which other countries Will
give up within definite time.
Rebuilt and strengthened, the col
lective systematic League and the Kel-
logg pact, working together-is the only
foundation for peace in the modern
world.
(Copyright 1888 by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, 1nc)