AT GENEVA

Hokitika Guardian, 23 May 1932, Page 5

AT GENEVA

GIBE AT GERMANY,

DISARMAMENT SPEECHES

GENEVA, April 19 :

Two very remarkable speeches were pronounced this morning in the General Commirsion on Disarmament by M. Tardieu, the French Premier, and' ! M. Litvinoff', the Soviet' Foreign Minister. The Frenchman entirely tied the inference up into knots, and made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any progress to be made l ; but th© Rus*sian made suggestions of a constructive nature. ‘

M. Tardieu, looking straight at the German delegation, said:—“Some of our friends invented a pocket battleship ; is it not possible that some day someone (will invent a pocket gun?’’ The Soviet delegation’s proposal is worded as follows“ The high contracting parties agree to effect a substantial reduction in their existing armaments according to the progressive and proportional principles laid down in the present convention.'’ Mr Litvinoff pro pored, a reduction which ‘'general staff's and not merely finance ministers and taxpayers would feel.”

The Russian Army, said M. Litvinoff, would be reduced under his plan by 50 per cent. Naval and air forces would also be reduced on a proportional basis. The Russian are oppored fo the limitations of armaments based on security alone.

Another Russian, M. Karl Rad«k, is one of the most interesting personages now in Geneva. M. Radek behind the scenes, played a leading part in the German revolution of . 1918-19 and wap arrested. Then he went to Russia and became the head of the Chinese University in Moscow. With Trotsky he was -sent into e- K 'le, hut now, -quite unheralded, he appears to have returned to Stalin’® favour. j

The Council of the League met , >n special session this afternoon ostensibly to discuss the report of the Finance Committee, but in reality it was an attempt by M. Tardieu, * t|ie president of the council, to revive 4he Danube conference which failed * as week in London. After the views expressed in London had been repeated it was decided to appoint a -special committee to consider the suggested loans to Austria- and Greece, and report to the next council meriting.