Evening star., 1933-04-29
A Fruitful Week.

Now that Messrs. Macdonald, Herriot
and Bennett have quit the busy scene,
1t Is permissible. as well as happily
possible. to record the fact that tangible
and substantial progress was achieved
through the conversations held with the
British, French and Canadian states
men by President Roosevelt and his ad-
visers.
Behind them all lies . week Of fruit
full accomplishment. For the moment
that accomplishment is not expressible
in definite terms Of formal agreements
on SPECIFIC things. That never was the
purpose Of these conversations, or Of
the ensuing talks the President Is about
to have with spokesmen Of Italy, Ger
many, Japan, China, the South Ameri-
can ABC states and other. countries.
Mr.. Roosevelt projected nothing but
air-clearing. MISUNDERSTANDING con-
ference, . heart-to-heart exchange of
views, as it were, with understanding
on both sides that it was an "explana-
tory" rather than . negotiatory, en-
terprise In which he and his visitors
from abroad were engaged.
The statements which have been IS
sued by the President and concurred in
by the British prime minister and M.
Herriot are necessarily very general in
tone, and, In spots, even vague. But
thAv dn ra0}e}ov ana ,,1 a ptv.oc,. .o&> A. =.
significance Of which Is not to be under
estimated. That Is the revelation that
on all broad. fundamental points Amer
lea, Britain and France are In agree
ment. They commonly recognize the
urgency Of making the World Monetary
and Economic Conference Q success.
They are at one IN the consciousness
that . failure among the great powers
to unite In measures for international
financial and commercial restoration
means world disaster in the wake Of
what Is now merely world distress.
There is realization that the dollar.
the pound and the franc bear an in
dissoluble relationship, one to the other,
and to currency conditions everywhere,
and must therefore be brought into
some semblance of uniform stabilisa-
ton. There is acknowledgment that a
tariff truce" such as Is about to be
proclaimed between the United States
and France, is q pre-essential to the
success of the London conference.
There Is consensus that the debt struc-
ture merits readjustment. There is
universal concession that an economi-
cally unsettled world cannot hope for
equilibrium while budgets are burdened
to the breaking point by the cost Of
excessive armaments.
And finally, transcending all these
concrete issues affecting the lives Of
the peoples, is an overpowering con-
viction among the American, British
and French nations and their RESPONSE
bic leaders, that the world needs peace
peace in the sense M. Herriot did not
fail to emphasize at Washington, which
rests on security and on respect for
treaties. The former French premier
likewise did not ignore while here the
opportunity to plead for the French
thesis of a consultative pact whereby
the United States under certain condi-
tions would agree to hold confab with
other governments when peace is en-
dangered. American public sentiment
will need education on this score, to
make 1t wholly palatable to q people
reared in the no-entangling- alliances
school, but it sufhces for the present
to know-and there is nothing alarm
ing in the knowledge-that this week
in Washington has paved the way to
progress in this, as well as in other
vital directions
Details may safely be left for the
future to develop and work out.