DEFENCE FORCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21362, 16 June 1931, Page 10

DEFENCE FORCES

WARNING NOTE SOUNDED RUSSIA’S MILITARY PREPARATIONS. (Peb United Press Association.) THAMES, June 15. General Sir George Richardson, who attended the returned soldiers’ reunion at Thames on Saturday evening, uttered a distinct note of warning in regard to the disarmament problem. He said: “I must say the League of Nations does wonderfully fine work on the social side, but I cannot say I am impressed with its work on disarmament. You will remember that one of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was that Germany must reduce her army to 100,000 men; and it is now Germany’s great complaint that, while she has been forced by the treaty to reduce her army, yet other countries, signatories to the treaty, have not reduced their armies in proportion. England made a bigger move than anyone. So far as I can see, the countries will not reduce their armaments whilst a powerful country like Russia remains outside the League.” General Richardson then went on to give details of the position in Russia, stressing the fact that it was not possible for the Empire to go further in disarmament while there still remained the menace of countries not in the League. This certainly was not the time to abolish military training or to reduce forces.