Evening star., 1933-05-14
CONVERSATIONS HERE CAST
DOUBT ON LONDON PARLEY
Views Differ as to Benefits of Confer.
ences of Macdonald and Herriot
With Roosevelt.

matte control over ornaments. which
means international supervision.
More than all else Herriot did find a
more sympathetic atmosphere both in
official and unofficial quarters in the
United States which, since he is. him.
self, in no small measure a sentiment
alist, delighted him and gave him some
thing to talk about when he got home.
But he knew before he left that the
sum total Of his harvest in America
would not enable him to become prime
minister again in any earlier time.
What counted even more. however. in
the larger view was that the French
experts headed by NJ. Rist. like the
British led by Leith-Ross. took away no
definite or reaSSuring view OF American
policy or of the professors who are run
ming it.
So far as one can Judge from the out
side both the French and the British
visitors were satisfied that American
policy was largely opportunistie. Again
and again they quoted to me the inter-
view which emerged from the White
House without quotation marks, declar-
ing that the United States Government
was using the tactics of a quarterback
In foot ball game and trying one play
after another rather than following any
definite policy. And very frankly they
agreed that this seemed in their eyes
the abdication of all settled policy.
Find No Plan.
The British went away without any
notion Of what the Roosevelt admins
tration actually wanted, the French
with the no less strong conviction that
that odr,ipi iefro fio, rl;d ,,ot ;tsa1f bo1o
q plan. But the consequences of such
estimates now that the experts and
statesmen are home must be plain. In
England. as well as in France. the sud-
den plunge of the United States from
the gold standard awakened violent re-
sentiment and profound suspicion. After
thei1 arrival both the British and
French visitors accepted the official ex-
PLANTATION that the step was forced by
domestic conditions and not taken in
accord with plan Of employing poker
strategy" but returning they found
themselves faced with the task of con-
verting their domestic public opinions
to an explanation which was on the
whole little more reassuring.
In the past two weeks I have been
unable to find outside the charmed cir
Gle of official Washington the smallest
USAcA tAAnt duyIIAuS Cdu VIC dCCoAAi-
plished at the London Conference. Il
will believe that something must hap
pen'-this statement by one of the
Ambassadors of a great power repre-
sents the maximum of optimism. Dip
lomatic Washington, eager for a sue
cessful conference, justly and visibly
anxious over the inescapable conse-
quences of failure, has been more pes
simistic than have ever seen it even
on the eve Of other conferences which
have failed.
The spirit in which the administra-
ton is launching itself upon a course
Of domestic imitation is not the least of
the causes for apprehension among Eu-
ropean diplomats and economic experts
here. who have themselves lived through
experiments of similar nature in their
own countries. I know that it is Gus
tomary in certain circles here and else
where to believe that the Europeans
are playing q game with us and that
their criticisms have been provoked by
clever tactics on the part Of our own
representatives.
Seek Definite Plan.