THE PEACEMAKERS

The old days that immediately followed the World War, when nations could either have their peace, conferences or let them alone, seem to be gone forever. Nowadays there must not only be a regurgitation by each of the delegates, speaking from his home bureau and placing the blame for the failure of the conference on his colleague, but there must also be preliminary conferences. Of this nature is the Preparatory Disarmament Conference which meets this week at Geneva. One would think that the ushering in of the conference itself would be sufficiently covered by this preliminary one. Not so.

On their way to Geneva, the Russian delegation, headed by the garrulous Maxim Litvinoff, stopped off in Berlin to confer with the German delegation while the latter were figuratively packing their suitcases The reason for this rendezvous is pretty well known in European diplomatic circles. It is the intention of these nations to pour coals of fire upon their late and present enemies by being the outstanding espousers of world disarmament at the conference to come. Says M. Litvinoff: "Only 12.7 percent of the Russian budget goes for military enterprises, where-as the other powers, except Germany, spend between 20 percent and 35 percent of their income."

True or not, this publicity is hurtful to the other great powers, and there is great hurrying and scurrying in the French and British and Italian offices to answer is. For whatever recriminations pass between diplomats, the feeling of the people of the world seems to be for peace, with disarmament as the first step toward world security. Mean-while the British and Italian foreign offices tell their people through the press that the Russians always spoil every conference anyway, just as soon as it gets nicely going, and so the people must not expect too much of the conference at Geneva. France has also taken steps to keep her people from the conviction that she herself is the militaristic nation and the German and Russian orges are the real peacemakers. Foreign Minister Briand talked with Ambassador Loudon of Holland, who is to preside at the conference, and it is believed that Briand requested Loudon to check with his gavel any long speeches by Litvinoff that would quote statistics on the post bellum expenditures of the peaceloving Allies.

Germany has been likewise able to throw down the gage to the Allies in her flat refusal to abide by the military strictures placed upon her after the war unless the Allies themselves agree to disarm. And with Russia and Germany as the nations who want peace in the world even if they have to fight for it, there takes place a curious metamorphosis of identity.

For the two nations who were branded by the majority with responsibility for the World War are the ones who will attend the Geneva Conference with minds most seriously bent on disarmament.