PEACE OF EUROPE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18663, 20 March 1924, Page 7

PEACE OF EUROPE.

REPARATION FACTOR. AGREEMENT VERY NEAR. OPTIMISM IN AMERICA. AMBASSADORS' SPEECHES. CO-OPERATION OF FRANCE. By Telegraph— Association— (Received 12.5 a.m.) A. and N.Z. , NEW YOKE. Mar. 18. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times states that the President, Mr. Calvin Coolidge, informed him that an amicable settlement of the reparations question acceptable to France and to the other countries involved is very near, on the basis of the considerations being prepared by the Committees ol: Experts which are examining the questionMr. C. E. Hughes, Secretary of State, receives dally advice as, to the progress of the negotiations, and he, too, holds the opinion that there will shortly be a full agreement on all vital points. " Mr. Coolidge indicated that he did not wish to raise false hopes, because the situation was such that it would be dangerous to draw definite conclusions, but the best information indicated that the long-standing European dispute would be adjusted with a resulting stabilisation of conditions and prosperity. "America will unquestionably feel an impulse to work for the permanent peace of Europe, on which, to a large measure, her prosperity depends, and not to leave Europe to 'stew in her own juice,' " said Sir Esme Howard, the new British Ambassador to the United States, at a dinner given by the Pilgrim Society. Splendid Isolation Over. "America's attitude of complete aloofness, and her lack of interest in the affairs of the other white Continent are not wholesome, nor will they prove ultimately to be good business for either of the two," continued Sir Esme. "Signs of goodwill, which has been lacking for many years, have appeared on the horizon. "We in England have long realised that a policy of splendid isolation is but, an idle dream, and vain imagining. I believe that America, by combining her strong, practical common sense with her undoubted idealism, will advance step by step, not committing herself for the future, but helping as necessity arises. "Believing in the American people, I have come from the stricken countries of Europe firm in this conviction. If I were to lose it after sojourning among you, I think I should turn by face to the wall and prefer to die." Settling Disputes Judicially. Sir Esme added that' America, under the late President Harding, was not splendidly isolated, but rather splendidly helpful in many ways, and now, under Mr. Coolidge, she was doing her best through the instrumentality of her experts on the reparation committees to straighten out that tangled skein. Referring to the policy of settling disputes judicially, he said it was inconceivable that Britain and the United States should' ever wish to adopt, any other method. "I. wish to God we could say the same of the rest of the world," said Sir Esme. "I appeal to the citizens of the United States to do all, in their power to help create a will to peace, for with each determination against war its possibility becomes more and more remote."

t . Friendship ol Trance. M. Jusserand, Ambassador for France to the United States, said: "My. ideal in the course of a long career has been trust and friendship among the three foremost liberal nations of the 'World, namely, France, England, and America. I never favoured an exclusive union between two of the nations, but always between the three. I persist in my belief, considering as I do that a three-legged seat is safer than a two-legged one." M. Jusserand denied that the French air forces were aimed against Britain. "We do not fear the absolutely predominant British Fleet," • he declared. "We trust it. It is a friend's fleet. There is no more reason for Britain to fear French aeroplanes than for France to fear the British Navy. After many wars we intend to astonish and delight the world with the length of our peace-"

In conclusion, he said that France was now devoting herself to a programme of economy and production.