The Washington times., 1936-01-18
Human Side
of the
News
By EDWIN c. HILL
PREVENTING WARS


Gerald Nye summons j. P. Nor.
gan before his Senate Munitions
Committee and seeks to make out
his case that the loans by the
American bankers as fiscal agents
for the Allied powers were the
real cause of Americas entry into
the World War. At the same time,
Sir Philip Gibbs and Englands
Royal Commission on Private
Manufacture of Arms delve into
the part of the mysterious Basil
zaharoff as a war-maker by rea-
son of his hold on Vickers. Ltd.
Linked with the Investigations
are the timely questions of sane
tons and neutrality. The North
Dakota Senator, Mr.. Nye, has got
ten his teeth deeply into this bone
of contS1tion as to who and what
caused the war. He hangs on
with the tenacity and zeal of a
La Toilette Progressive and he
doesn't mean to let go.
The MorganS and the Wander.
lips may testify and prove that
their financing was legal, above.
board and done with the permits.
sion of the Government On the
other hand, Senator Nye, with
powerful and vociferouS support,
if he cannot prove what hap
pened in 1914-1917 was wrong.
seems to be intent on making it
wrong now and hereafter.
Sir Philip Gibbs hatred of war
was acquired first hand. He won
his reputation and his knight.
hood by his dispatches as a cor
respondent with the British forces
in France. With a vividness and
detail unsurpassed, he painted
the day-by-day chronicle of the
war.
INVESTIGATIONS
AS to Zaharoff, I doubt that
Sir Philip will get much beneath
the surface on the doings of that
aged gentleman. The German
novelist, Robert Neumann, has
just tried it with no startling sue.
cess. His book, "zaharoff, the
Armaments King" tells us not so
much that is new about Sir Basil
but good deal about how diff.
cult it is to track him down.
His birthplace, his parentago
and his age remain unknown.
He must be eighty and he must
be fabulously wealthy since his
profits for the World War out of
VickerS alone amounted to S17O..
000,0 Mr.. Neumann is certain
that zaharoff. in 1877, began
selling guns to the Greeks and
to Turks with which to kill each
other, and for which he received
$25 a week.
There is no question but that
Europe should do something
about it's ornaments ring. There
may be no question that the
United States should do some
thing about the financing of for.l
eign wars from this country. But
there is, in my mind, a big ques-
ton as to whether we should |
rush headlong into legislation TO
prevent wars at time when our
Judgment may be biased by cur.
rent warfare and current invest.
cation.
We have had war for at least
5000 years and perhaps We should
spend at least one year of calm
and careful consideration of the
steps which will keep us out of
the next. Isn't it but a few
months since an ill-advised and
hastily withdrawn oil embargo by
one of our Cabinet officers came
dangerously close to melting one?
We did not remain calm and
collected in 1914, and We don't
seem to be doing so in 1886 1t
may be recalled that in discussing,
the lnevitablenesS of the Italo.
Ethiopian conflict last September
it was pointed out in these col.
umnS that England was asking
our intervention, whereas, in an.
exactly similar case, that of the
japanese invasion of China, she
had refused to join Secretary
StImSon in a protest note.
A SOUND POLICY
It is interesting to note that the
same point is raised in France
today by those who refuse to fol.
low England to the limit in apply.
ing sanctions. Andre Tardeu. as.
Serting that ever since the World
War France had attempted in
vain to organize rational ma.
ch1nery of sanctions within the
League of Nations, adds:
In 1924 the efforts of Her
riot and eight years later my
own efforts were fOiIed by the
British. During the Manchurian
troubles, Sir John Simon, Brit
lsh foreign secretary, declared
that under no pretext would his
majeSty'S government permit.
their country to be drawn into
a conflict.
Sanctions, when organized
IN advance and consequently
en- maSse, can prevent war. OnA
the contrary, the application of
imprOviSed sanctions may, by
reason of their dubiOuSness, lead
to war"
This last paragraph is as true
| for us as it is for Europe. History
: will tell us, too, that the United
: States was impoverished and It's