Advancing Preparations

The Preparatory Disarmament Commission* (TIME, May 24 et seq.) adjourned last week after approving the report of its Drafting Committee apportioning the work to be done by the various subcommittees (TIME. May 31) which will assemble and whip into shape the literally stupendous mass of data eventually to be acted upon by the Disarmament Conference. September was announced last week as the approximate time at which the Preparatory Commission will meet again to shepherd the activities of its various committees and subcommittees, whose preparatory labors are expected to continue for at least a year.

Report, The report adopted last week keynoted as follows:

1) Each government participating in the Disarmament Conference should prepare and present to it "definite and quantitative proposals, accompanied by reasons in support of these proposals based on the degree of security existing at the date when the conference meets."

2)"The commission is of the opinion that it would not be practicable at the present time to limit the ultimate war strength of a country. On the other hand it affirms that it is possible to limit the land, sea and air forces which are permanently maintained in peacetime by various countries or which are capable of immediate use without preliminary mobilization measures. This principle is enunciated without prejudice."

3) Special reports are to be made on the following subjects:

a) Regional disarmament; b) Chemical and bacteriological warfare; c) Possible elaborations to be made in the League Covenant with intent to speed up and reenforce the League mechanism for bringing aid to an attacked state./-

Significance. The report represents an affirmation in principle of the Anglo-U. S. theory that disarmament must be confined to "actual" weapons, while at the same time allowing full investigation of the Latin nations' insistent proposals that "potential" weapons be also considered. As everyone knows, these divergent views have been loudly and publicly aired for months (TIME, Dec. 21 et seq.) by Viscount Cecil (Britain) and M. Paul-Boncour (France).

Hugh Simpson Gibson, head of the U. S. delegation, instructed practically all his assistants and experts to remain at Geneva during the summer, there to function as members of the various committees and subcommittees. Mr. Gibson himself journeyed to Berne, a scant 75 miles distant. There he will continue as U. S. Minister to Switzerland, will visit Geneva often, keep in close touch with the advancing preparations.

*Its full and descriptive title: The Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference, being a Commission to prepare for a Conference on the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments.

/-The German delegation submitted a significant memorandum on this point: "The suggested examination of methods likely to bring rapid assistance to a country attacked should not, in the opinion of the German delegation, be based on the present position of armaments, which is temporary. The examination should have as a starting point a state of disarmament resulting from the conference such that no county would be so powerful as to be in a position to assert its strength against that of the League of Nations." Disarmed Germany naturally favors the rapid disarmament of other powers to an "equality of weakness" with herself.