Evening star., 1934-04-08
ARMS REDUCTION HANGS
in BALANCE THIS WEEK.
Parley at Geneva Begins Tuesday With
Perhaps Peace of World Ringing
on a Dozen Statesmen.

tory W0rk Dy various commissions ION
which representatives Of the United
States, Russia, Turkey-au non
League states-served) and the League
Council and Assembly. The raison
detre for the conference, its pro-
cedure and ultimate objectives were
based upon (a) Article VIII Of the
covenant, (b) the Briand-Kellogg out
lawry Of war pact and (c) various
key resolutions passed by the confer
ence itself.
Aims Outlined.
The first Of these resolutions, adopt
ed in April, 1882, laid down the prin-
ciple that the conference should draft
a convention providing for reduction
OF armaments by stages in accordance
with Article VIII of the covenant.
Another resolution, adopted in July,
1882, called for
l. Substantial reductions of ex-
iSting ornaments:
2. Abolition Of chemical and poison
gas warfare;
3. Suppression of all bombardment
by air and abolition of bombing
planes, and
4. Reduction Of naval armaments.
The conference steadfastly refused
to commit itself on the delicate ques-
tions Of equality raised by the Ger
mans, nor was it able to define just
what was meant by Frances demand
for security. Enmeshed ii compli-
Gated political technicalities, which
involved the sanctity Of the Versailles
treaty, definition of offensive arma-
mentS, ETC., the conference came to
standstill after about six months
of conversation, and the Germans
withdrew for the first time
On December IL, 1882, the famous
protocol which granted Germany the
oretical equality Of rights within a
system Of general security" was drawn
up, and Berlin sent its delegates back
to Geneva
The year of 1888 came and went.
1t has been characterized by M. Benes
as the Year of Equality of Rights"
and before it was over Germany again
withdrew, this time not only from the
Disarmament Conference but from the
League and International Labor Office
and all their allied activities as we'll
Officially, the Hitler government an
nounced that its withdrawal was due
to failure Of the Disarmament Confer
ence to meet Germany's demands for
equality in armaments. Actually, the
bitter criticism leveled at the Nazis in
the League Assembly for anti-semit-
| icism and other excesses, helped bring
about the break. The about-face of
the British also made Berlin's further
participation in disarmament negotia-
tions difficult. After having encour-
aged the Germans by tactitly accept
ing their claim to equality, Sir John
Simon proposed a five-year trial
period, to which he had obtained the
approval of Italy, France and the
United States.
Exchanges Follow.
Without Germany. the conference
could not proceed. Since last october
it has been in state Of suspended
animation while private negotiations
| between London, Paris, Rome and
Berlin were in progress. Direct diplo-
matte exchanges between the French
and Germans also have been many
and diversified. but all to no avail.
Under ordinary circumstances, Ber-
| Inns last proposal to Paris would have
been difficult for a BRAND, or Herriot
or even a Paul Boncour government
to reject. Hitler offered to accept, for
the time being, a regular army OF
100000 men the Versailles treaty
permits ,000), tanks of six tons and
pursuit planes. Germany furthermore
agreed to accept international control,
which, of course, was to apply to all
signatories of the treaty and not to
| demand the So-called offensive weap-
ons pending their gradual suppression
/ by other states.
The governmental set-up in France
has been completely revamped, how
ever, as result Of the recent political
crisis. A national coalition is at the
helm and a die-hard. reactionary, M.
Barthou, is foreign minister. The
French public has no faith in Hitler
nor in Nazi promises and pledges and
has reached state of mind where it
backs the extreme Right and the mill
| tarists. 1t is no secret that the
French General Staff would rather see
Germany rearmed than give up a
single cartridge. And there IS ample
reason to believe that Germany is
more interested in rearming herself
than in disarming France.
That France will officially acquiesce
in Germany's rearmament is doubtful,
but they will not go to war to prevent
it or to enforce the disarmament
clauses Of the Versailles treaty. They
will prefer to make Germany "break"
| still another treaty in order to obtain
forbidden military equipment.
May Disclose Data.
Such a procedure would provide
France with an opportunity of reveal
ing the contents of the Quai d'Orsay's
famous Dossier. This collection of
evidence, tending to prove that Ger
many has long been guilty of syste-
matically ignoring various parts Of
the peace treaties, has been gathering
dust and new chapters in the French
| foreign Office since the interallied
military control was withdrawn. Lib
eral governments have tried to forget
it; the Right parties, especially Andre
Tardieu's following, have never given
up hope of feeding it to an appre-
hensive population at the right mo-
ment. 1t could easily facilitate the
passage of an unprecedented military
budget. For the Quai dOrsay-and
the present reactionary regime-it is
an 'ace in the hole"
The Gerhas:, y is admitted on all
sides, have already clandestinely re-
armed themselves with such things as
machine guns, light artillery, speed
planes and bombers disguised as
| commercial aviation) to a level con-
siderably above that permitted under
the peace treaty. They are anxious
to have these ornaments legalized.
The British and Italians have OH
cially agreed to controlled rearma-
ment" and the Belgians have an
nounced that they are not willing to
| fight to enforce the disarmament
clauses Of Versailles. Poland has
made peace with Berlin and will not
stand in the way, while the majority
Of other European states, as well as
Russia, regard parts Of the Versaille1
treaty as no longer applicable-unlesa