Disarmament Extravaganza

What are armaments? The Military Committee of the Preparatory Disarmament Commission (TIME, June 7) tried last week to decide this question. Its Dutch members opined that under certain circumstances, mists, fogs, pigs, sheep, horned cattle and horses might become "armaments," and should be classed as such. The Germans declared that fierce states men such as Clemenceau, potent generals such as Foch, are in dubitably "armaments." Birth rates, agricultural machinery are, said the French, "armaments." The Swedes added "favorable ocean currents" to the list.

In despair of ever finding out what "armaments" may be, the Committee asked itself :

What are peacetime armaments? Straightway the Latins, all of whom maintain large military reserves, declared that these are not "peacetime armaments," but that an armed police force--now Germany's chief defense--is indubitably a "peacetime armament."

Since no simpleton could fail to see that all these extraordinary contentions proceeded from the self-interest or fear which advanced them, the adjournment of the Committee, in midweek, without deciding the nature of even "peacetime armaments" came as no surprise.

The Committee voted, however, 15 to 1--the U. S. abstaining and Germany voting contra, mundum-- that "peacetime effectives" be understood not to mean "trained reservists" or war material to equip them, but to include "military forces under the colors, police, forest guards and any other such organization . . . available without measures of mobilization."

The adoption of this definition suggested the possibility that Germany might be "disarmed" of even her police, while France and Italy might keep 5,000,000 "trained reservists" ready to fight as soon as they could seize a gun--Germany, as everyone knows, being forbidden by existing treaties to train reservists.

As the nub of further discussion the French advanced the theory that "peacetime effectives" should not include warships, except those officially rated as "in service." Under this clause the largest navy in the world might be built and a complete "naval reservist" staff trained to man it--all ships being carefully kept "out of service." Upon the declaration of war, the running up of a few naval flags would put the fleet "in service" with a vengeance.