POLITICAL PACTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 516, 27 April 1933, Page 5

POLITICAL PACTS

DISARMAMENT QUESTIONS Rec. April 26, 8 p.m. Washington, April 25, Economic questions have momeiitarily retreated to the background tb.day, political o-nes taking their plac'e. It is said to-night that France holds the key position as concerns the tentative understanding reached during the past few days. The question of France's security .to-night is the- hub of the situatign, although the French delegation denied there is any .truth - in the alleged WuPSU-W upn-revision pact. A It is known that the special-posi-tion of France in discussions and in all possible approaches to agreement

here is that of national security. There is hope that some me.thod may be f ound here for reconciling France's position with that of Great Britain and the United States. It seems indicated to-night that one of two things happened, either Mr. MacDonald's consultative peace draft anpunced on March 16, has been made acceptable to France for various domestic reasons, or it has been modified in some way by Mr. Roosevelt to meet France's desires. Possibly this has been done by a piild form of security agreement j which takes the shape of an embargo on any nation attaGking France. • It is argued that neutral economic pres- j suro from accumulated efforts of the world's depression is doing mOre than all the statesmen of the world to-day , to make France co-operate in political matters, | The French here, it is said, are now ) asking how far Mr. Roosevelt can go j 'in assuring Cohgressional acceptance | of any form of security agreement. Mr. MacDonald, M. Herriot and Mr Roosevelt dined informally at White "House to-night, and following con- j versations, received members of the ; Foreign Relations Committee from i "both houses of Congress. . It is understood that M. Herriot ex- i plained the practical impossibility for France to agree to general disarmament without some adequate system of control. • ■ It is reported that M. Herriot pointed out that under the present procedure, the negative vote of members suspected of secretly accupiUlating arms, could stop any investigation.