Paris, Apr. 22, Though the preparatory conference on disarmament at Geneva has. broken up in what almost might be a- called confusion, the time has not altogether been lost. The technical side of the question hay been thoroughly investigated, which means that the problem, for the, first time, has emerged from the clouds of generalities and corns down to the level of practical politics, The Governments concerned now have a fairly clear idea of the material consequences of reduc ing armaments, The most important points of agreement and also of difference are fixed, and it is now for the Governments to decide when ther they will make a further effort, or let the subject drop and admit that they cannot come to an understanding.
There was no real difference about the limitation of armaments or air forces, but there was a very marked difference of opinion about. the number of ships each Pow: should be allowed to have, M, Paul Boncour, who represents France, says in an interview that he offered. to combine total tonnage with a maximum tonnage of each kind of ship, on condition that any country, should be allowed to make changes in the various classes of ships by giving a year's notice to the League of Nations Council. This proposal was opposed by Italy, who considered that, so long asa country ad-_ hered to the allotted total tenn: she should be free to vary its pro-Britain adhered to the ington formula of strictly; limiting the tonnage of every kind of ship, There also was disagreement on the, question of naval estimates, Britain and the United States de-_ lining the proposal to the amount which a country may set aside each year for building men-of-_ war. The greatest opposition of all showed itself over the que: tion of control. The United States pointed out that she did not belong to the League of Nations, Italy' re-Jeeted any limitation of her to spend her money as che pleased, The Japanese delegate said his Government ud not yet made up its mind, Britain subordinated any inquiry to the content of the Power! concerned.
'M. Paul Bonsour says he does not think it possible to reduce armaments without guarantees of. security, and he cannot understand why nations should adhere to the League without accepting its reilisies. A country may or: tion, Promoters of the Paraguayan scheme hope that Mennonites from all over the world, perhaps to the number of hundreds of thousands, will in the next few years concentrate in the new land of freedom, may not approve of international solidarity, but, if peace is to be dased on this solidarity, the desire must show itself in the form of reciprocal undertakings. A Government cannot sign an international] pact and at the same time maintain its own liberty of action. Locarno might have been the beginning of a system of local agreements, but Locarno has not been followed up, and therefore M. Paul Boncour can see no other guarantee of security than a prudent but genuine control of armaments, Bolshevism Di Jaimed The "Journal" publishes an inter view with Mr, Sin Ting, the leader of the seven Chinese students who claim to be the European executive of the Kuomintang and to be in constant communication with the central committee at Hankow. Mr. Sin Ting recently completed his studies at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques, and has taken his degree as doctor' of Inws, "We are not. Bolsheviks," he said, "Modern Russia is 'a creation of the Communist party constituted in accordance with the doctrines of Karl Marx. It is trying a new social and economic experiment. 'The Kuomintang owes its general inspiration to Russia, but its own motto is 'China for' the Chinese," and we accept most of the established traditions concerning property.
"Our view is that China should be free to control her own political and economic existence, to make her own Customs tariffs, and to abolish the extraterritorial system. We re revolutionaries, but national revolutionaries, and we do not want any Bolshevism. Our aim is to! unify China and treat on equal terms with the Western Powers.", He repudiated any intention extending the operations of his! party to Indo-China, and said he and his friends had' quite enough to do in their own country.
As an expression of the ne and conservative French view of the Chinese" situation, there has been nothing better than the following by M. Auguste Gauvin in nurnat" des Débate Chen," he observes, Cantonese are not hostile to foreign lustness or capital, and that they want to build up anew China on the old foundations. Unfortunately, yhe contradicts himself strangely, According to what he is reported to have said to an interviewer, he thinks he can reconcile Chinese He disdainfully rejects Occidentalism, but wants to adapt his country to the soci life. "He desires to abolish all the privileges of foreigners, but nevertheless states that all foreigners will retain the same facilities and the same guarantees as before, "He alleges that he {2 utilizing Bolshevism only for temporary purposes, and that the Southerners still are engaged in the process? of pulling down the old strasinze. It is easy to see what has ten pulled down, but no trace of any construct ive plan is visible. The Southerners are burning and killing st Hankow but are not building eny-thing, Mr. Chen says he is cone Vineed that the ancient Chines civilization is too refractory Bolshevism to be absorbed by This we readily can believe, but the period of pulling down may on until nothing is left of the ancient civilization contemporary, with Babylon, Mr, Chen should lose no time in beginning to construct, The Cantonese really seem to me t6 be much more like the Kemalist than Bolsheviks. "Mr, Chen and hid European friends are filled with illusions similar to there of the Young Turks. If Mr, Chen wantd to re-assure foreigners about his new regime, it is high time for him to indicate his plans move clearly. ble Political Career M. Gaston Thomson, now aged 79, {9 not the oldest man in the Chamber of Depaties, but he hay established record in having sat unintere ruptedly for 50 years.for the sama constituency—Constantine, one of the divisions of Algeriq, He was first elected on April 22, 1877, ha being at that time a writer on' the staff of Gambetta's newspaper, the "République Frangaiae." We wa retitrned on the eve of the historia conflict between the President. of the Republic, Marshal MacMahon, and the elected representatives of the people, Two months after M, Thomasson took hiv sent, the President took the high-handed course of die solving Parliament. A solemn pros test against this action was regime tered by 303 deputies, and, out of these, 318, including M. Thomson, were returned at the next election, M, Thomson thus has seen the de cline and fall of the Second Empire, the stormy beginning of the Third Republic, and its gradual advance to condition of stability which no longer is disputed. M. Thomson hag been three times a miniater, but he is much less proud of this than of having been the trusted friend and collaborator of Gambetta. He ig very regular in his attendance ab the Chamber, but speaks only on great occasions,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.