TWELVE YEARS- AFTER

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 10, 11 July 1930, Page 8

TWELVE YEARS- AFTER

WORLD STILL IX ARMS REMARKABLE FIGURES v (Contributed by the National Defence League.) In view of recent representations made to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the "No More War Movement," the League of Nations Union, the Presbyterian Church, and the New Zcaland Labour Party in favour of the scrapping of compulsory military training in New Zealand as being "contrary to the spirit of the League of Nations," and, curiously enough, urging the substitution of the voluntary system as providing a more efficient moans, of defence, it is instructive to examine the figures published in the latest League of Nations j "Armaments Year Book," and ascertain how far,, after upwards of ten years of i strenuous effort in that direction, the Lea- I gue of Nations has succeeded in attaining its goal, general disarmament, which is the hope of the world. ; The first fact that emerges is that, so far from compulsory military service being "contrary to the spirit of the League," it is the cardinal principle upon which the great bulk of the Powers composing the League base their military systems, and that, if these nations enforcing compulsory military service for tbeir own security were to withdraw from the League, the League itself would cease to exist. ONLY EX-ENEMY POWERS DISARMED.

The second factor, as regards the progress of. disarmament, is that very little has been achieved under this, head, except in the disarmament of the late enemy Powers. 3?hat this is- so, is demonstrated in the fact that, while there wore 1,422,000, fewer soldiers in Europe in 1928 than in 1913, no. less than 1.213,000 of .these are represented in enforced reductions of the active armies of the ex-enemy-. Powers, while the active armies of the whole of the rest of Europe have only been cut down by the insignificant quota of 209,000. The actual position is disclosed in the following tables showing the strength of the active armies of the late enemy Powers and of the rest of Europe in 1013 and 192S:— Active Armies of ex-Enemy Powers. 1913 1928 Germany 791,000 90,000 Austria-Hungary 424,000 Austria . — 20,000 Hungary — 34,000 Turkey 230,000 120,000 Bulgaria 60,000 19,000 Totals 1,505,000 292,000 Active Armies of Rest of Europe. 1013 1028 Albania 24.000 8,000 Belgium = 48,000 64,000 Czeeho-Slovakia > — 117,000 Denmark 14,000 11,000 Estonia — 17.000 Finland — 25,000 France ' ?90,000 672,000 Greece : 25,000 67,000 Italy 305,000 366,000 Latavia - — 20,000 Lithuania — 24,000 Montenegro ...; 10,000 «• — Netherlands 23,000 372,000 Norway , v 80,000 13,000 Poland ■. — 281,000 Portugal 30,000 28,000 Rumania 103,000 136,000 Russia 1,200.000 562,000 Serbia 361,000 — Serb, Croat, and Slove'ne ' . State — 110,000 Spain 122.000 ■ 168,000 Sweden 81,000 34,000 Switzerland 143.000 46,000 Totals 5',359,000 3,150,000 MORE SIGNIFICANT FACTS. The strength of the Regular Army of Great Britain has been ■ reduced '■ from 234,000 in 1914 to 200.000 in 1928, notwithstanding that since the Great War ■ the military obligations of th.e British Empire have been greatly increased by the British Empire having to take over various mandates from the League of Nations. What these obligations mean were only too recently evidenced in the ease of the Holy Land to require emphasising. Other significant facts which help to throw light uppn the above figures are as follows:— (1) In "the. cockpit of Europe" Belgium has increased the strength of her active army from 48.000 to 64,000, while the active army of the Netherlands has been raised from 23,000 to 372,000. (2) Since 1928 Denmark has scrapped her force of 11,000 men, preferring to rely on the rivalries of the Great Powers surrounding her for the maintenance of her integrity. (3) France, notwithstanding the Treaty of Locarno, the League of Nations Covenant, and the Peace Pact, has made provision whereby she can practically double her peace strength on mobilisation by calling up trained reserves.

(4) Italy possesses a volunteer militia of some 280,000 in addition to her Regular Army. The V.M. are organised and trained in peace.

(5) Russia, besides the Regular Army, has numerous trained reserves as a result of conscription. There is also a society known as the "Osoaviachim" which exists to further the defence of the country. It has about 3,000.000 members. j (6) U.S.A., besides the Regular Army of! 136,000 in 1928 (increased from 105,000 in 1914), maintains a. National Guard (170,----000) and other organised reserves such as the Officers' Reserve Corps (115,000). DECLINE IN PEACE SPIRIT. While defending the Naval Treaty with the United States and Japan in the House of Commons as late as 15th May last. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Labour Prime Minister, who can scarcely be called a "militarist," uttered these momentous words:— '

"Since the failure at Geneva in 1927 great deterioration in the peace spirit has taken place. I attribute no blame for that failure, but if honourable members will look at the shipbuilding programmes and various other military programmes since 1927 they will find that the failure at Geneva has been a great impetus to trusting once again to military prepanation rather than the pursuit of pacific ends.

"Another situation which was only too apparent was this: Since tbe last war we have created the League of Nations. We have signed arbitration treaties of varying scope. We have signed treaties of peace, peace pacts like the Kellogg Pact, but, curiously enough, when we come to close purposes on the problem of armaments and the provision of arms, the mentality of the assumptions regarding how wars aro to be kept off and national security established, we found deplorably little trust placed upon these peace pacts and the organisations to secure peace. (Hear, hear.) The nations undoubtedly are falling back into their old mentality. The old fears, the old superstitions regarding security are returning, and exactly the same kind of arguments that were familiar before 1914 are coming back, unblushing and unashamed in 1930. Ido not say these things in order to strike a pessimistic note, quite the opposite, because the time is still with us when we can stop it, and, by making a sturdy effort to change that mentality, to hold back this tide that is flowing to international destruction, we can still save Europe "and the world from what'is called the next war." (Cheers.) As showing the progress being made by the civilised nations of the \vprld towards disarmament and peace these are facts that cannot be overlooked, however much we may desire to close our eyes to them, and are rendered the less encouraging when we reflect upon the position of modern Asia and Egypt, which are charged with vast explosive forces that may any day involve the British Empire in the most serious and far-reaching consequences. However Nunpleasant these facts may be, we must face them, and having already reduced the strength of our Territorial Force to the danger line, from 30.000 in 1914 to 16,800 at the present time, and the period of training from seven years to three, we must ask ourselves whether now is the time to make further reductions, and whether, in view of our military obligation to the British Empire and the League of Nations and the vanished supremacy of the British Navy, we had better not tread cautiously?