SOVIET PROPOSAL

Southland Times, Issue 20662, 18 April 1929, Page 7

SOVIET PROPOSAL

ARMAMENTS OF WAR

REDUCTION BY FIFTY PER CENT

INITIAL SUCCESS SCORED

(United Press Assn.—By Telegraph—Copyright.)

Geneva, April 16.

At the Preparatory Disarmament Commission M. Litvinoff, in a long speech, demanded that the commission should abandon present methods and reject direct dipomatic negotiations for armament agreements, and that instead the commission should consider the Soviet proposal for fifty per cent, reduction of all existing military, naval and air forces. Count Bernstorff supported action by the League instead of direct diplomatic negotiations. He said: “The task of this commission is to make agreements itself instead of merely registering agreements reached by the various Governments.”

Russia has scored a preliminary success inasmuch as the commission later agreed to discuss to-morrow whether her plan of a 50 per cent, reduction can be accepted as a basis for future work instead of a draft convention. —Australian Press Association.