The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, APRIL 2, 1928. THE LEAGUE AND PEACE.

Hokitika Guardian, 2 April 1928, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, APRIL 2, 1928. THE LEAGUE AND PEACE.

Though the Preparatory Committee oil disarmament has not yet achieved anything definite, its session has already provided, remarks a northern paper, more than one sensational episide for the outside world to reflect upon. In the first place the Germans have evidently made up their minds that the time has come to demand some mitigation of the disarmament terms imposed upon them by the Treaty of Versailles. The German newspapers now declare that “if the other Powers do not discharge their obligations, Germany will be released from hers.” This may sound plausible in Germany; but it unfortunately fails to take into account the vitally important fact that rightly or wrongly. the rest of the world believes that Germany plotted and precipitated the Great War. and the Peace of Versailles was drafted deliberately in such a form as to prevent the Germans from doing the same again. Another interesting feature of the session has been supplied hy the Bolshevik delegation, with its proposals for universal disarmament. Litvinoff persisted in his demand that the Committee should take his absurd scheme seriously, and Lord Cushendnn’s reply was sufficiently explicit to satisfy the most exacting critic. Pointing out that the Soviet State’s professed love of peace is incompatible with the doctrine of the Class War on which its whole system is founded, he finally forced Litvinoff fo admit that the Bolsheviks do not regard “civil war” as “war” in the ordinary sense of the term. To turn from the critical to the constructive side of the Committee’s work, the mast important incident has been the presentation of further disarmament proposals hy Britain. Tt is not necessary at present to consider these in detail, because there seems to he no prospect that they will meet with any general acceptance. Most of the Powers seem politely indifferent, and the United States is definitely hostile to them. The peculiarity of the present situation is that no scheme of naval reduction is of any value unless the Americans agree to it, and they are so devoted to their own plans tjiat they

see in the British offer only another insurious attempt to get the better of them and prevent them from securing the naval ascendancy at which they are manifestly aiming. Under the circumstances it would probably be a wise policy for Britain to refrain rrom any further practical proposals and to await the slow growth of that universal “will to peace” which is' the ultimate safeguard ngainsi war.