IDEALS AND DANGERS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 80, 1 October 1924, Page 5

IDEALS AND DANGERS

SIR JOSEPH COOK'S VIEW.

LONDON, 29th September. Sir Joseph Cook, interviewed by the Australian Press Association, said tho assembly was of supreme importance, notably for its disarmament proposals, concerning which the situation was critical when he left Geneva. He was afraid the gravity of the international situation, as revealed over the disarmament proposals, was not generally realised, but he preferred not to comment upon it until a settlement had been reached. Mr. Mac Donald and M. Herriot first precipitated the position by propounding a disarmament problem. What they practically proposed was the substitution of arbitration for war. In his opinion their ideals were good, but the discussions revealed the possibility of arbitration infringing sovereignty. He instanced Australia's sovereignty on the immigration question. The problem was to find a formula to meet the situation. When he left Geneva the problem had not, been solved. All this was preliminary to the proposed world conference on disarmament. Therefore if the Assembly did not solve tho problem it was not certain if the conference would bo held.