No More Poison Gas!

The Big Seven of the Geneva Conference-- finished making their initial proposals last week. Having done so, statesmen of the Big Seven showed extreme disinclination to hear the proposals of 50 in ore nations. Thus some of them did not hear what the people of the United States of Brazil, which is in desperate financial straits, have paid handsomely to have said for them in Geneva.

"My country," said the Brazilian delegate Senor Jose Carlos de Maceno modestly, "has never fought a single war of aggression."

Each of the Big Seven has fought a war of aggression and one was fighting such a war last week; but they successfully ignored the United States of Brazil, which is larger than the 48 United States. Suddenly the Chinese Delegation asked (and were refused) permission to set up loudspeakers and let the Conference hear a broadcast of Japanese battleships bombarding Shanghai. Thus China, the most populous country in the world was rebuffed. And of the Big Seven themselves least attention was paid to Russia, largest country in the world.

Major Proposals by the Big Seven and other nations proposed last week:

> That the United States and Soviet Russia immediately join the League of Nations (proposed by Spain).

> That bacteriological warfare, poison gas and the bombing of civilian populations be renounced (proposed by all the Big Seven and by all other nations heard from last week). This proposal and all others made at the Conference were weaseled to a greater or less extent, no matter how honest the speaker, no matter how hard he tried to speak without equivocation.*

> That naval limitation proceed by an extension of the Washington and London Naval Pacts (proposed by the U. S., Britain and Italy with France and Japan lukewarm).

> That submarines be abolished (proposed by the U. S. and Britain with the covert hostility of Japan and other nations). Realistic, the Japanese attitude was to soft-soap everyone and let the Conference drag on for as long as the white men liked--months, years, or an even longer period which seemed to be envisioned by Japanese Delegate Tsuneo Matsudaira (the father-in-law of Japan's Crown Prince) in these words: "When all nations sincerely desire to become good and trusted friends, when all nations are prepared to discharge faithfully their domestic and international responsibilities, when all nations feel that they can work out their own destinies with peace of mind, then and then alone our task will approach its end."

> That Germany be permitted to arm up to as great a strength as that of any other Great Power after it has limited its armaments (proposed by Germany, Italy, Russia, with France irreconcilably hostile).

> That the new French plan for an International Police Force directed by the League of Nations be discarded (this discard proposed by Italy and Russia, with Britain egging them on openly, Germany and the U. S. covertly). > That all "aggressive armaments" be discarded by all nations, provided this be done by an "organic plan'' (proposed by Italy).

> That all armaments be scrapped, or that half of them be scrapped, or that the largest percentage which the Conference can agree upon be scrapped (proposed by Russia).

> That 25% be taken as a tentative scrapping figure, but with innumerable reservations (Great Britain).

> That special weapons which the individual speaker considered "definitely offensive" should be eschewed by all nations.

Significance. Obviously the Geneva Conference can accomplish something on the basis of what was proposed last week, and if it achieves only the barring of poison gas will be well worth its cost (more than $2.000,000).

The Delegates had no unanimous idea last week how poison gas can be "barred." Poisonous gases are an ordinary product of every nation's chemical works, which are a unit in its industry, which is part of the Machine Age. Last week the Geneva Conference did not feel big enough to even dream of limiting or disarming the Machine Age, but it was 2,500 people big.

Smart Mr. Gibson made "Nine Points and said he might make more. Smart Signer Grandi made "Seven Points." Like firecrackers on a Chinese New Year's Day good ideas exploded every second, producing the effect of a vast Bedlam of Brilliance among the 2.500 smart people. (Biggest delegation: 100 Japanese.)

Major Trends emerging from the Conference Bedlam last week were:

The Trend Toward an International Police Force supported by France and all her numerous Allies.

The Trend Toward Naval Limitation running on down the well-worn grooves already made in world public opinion.

The Trend Toward Increased Military Armament at least for Germany and possibly for some other nations.

The Trend Toward Hypocrisy which has wrecked every disarmament conference thus far and was strongly in evidence last week.

Conference Doings. Handsome, spade-bearded Dino Grandi drew loudest cheers. The Crown Prince of Japan's father-in-law drew loudest hisses.

There were cheers (at last) for Russia's Foreign Minister who always used to be hissed or ignored (TIME, May 6, 1929, et seq.). Only Danish Foreign Minister Dr. Munch had the courage to drag Reparations into the Conference, and also tariffs. He flayed both as potential war causes.

Dr. Eduard Benes ("Smartest Little Statesman in Europe"), Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, demanded that the Conference go on and on and on and on until everyone was exhausted and worn down to the point of signing "The First Convention for Limitation and Reduction of Armaments"--a smart idea, going the Japanese one better.

Five million American women, members of eleven organizations represented in Geneva by the National Committee on the Cause & Cure of War, unqualifiedly endorsed every one of U. S. Chief Delegate Gibson's nine points last week and predicted that every one will be adopted. Other women backed other statesmen and their points.

One night the U. S. delegation's office was entered, Delegate Gibson's desk was ransacked and Senator Swanson's locked briefcase was slit open, nothing taken. This secret the U. S. delegation kept until, on a subsequent night last week, the breaking and entering was repeated (again no takings). Peace Man Gibson reported to the police.

* Alphabetically: France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U. S.

* Example: Honest Hugh Gibson, the close friend of Honest Herbert Hoover said, "Not a single American nation possesses an army which brings fear to its neighbors." Yet both Mr. Hoover and Mr. Gibson know that fear of the armed might of the U. S. is a note shrieked every day of the year by some Latin-American paper and they know that the armies of Bolivia and Paraguay have been sniping at each other for so long that both populations are in a state of never-ending fear of each other's armies.

Not a lie, Mr. Gibson's sentence was a particularly sincere effort to explain to the Conference why the U. S. does not propose to reduce the U. S. Army by a single man--the reason being that President Hoover honestly considers the U. S. Army a purely defensive and minimum force no matter how many Mexicans were defensively shot by Honest General Pershing & Army.

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