Last Hopes at Geneva There is unfortunately no prospect that
Herr Hitler will get to Geneva to confer with Mr. MacDonald and M. Daladier on the disarmament problem this week-end, and Signor Mussolini shows no signs of leaving home either. The Prime Minister has apparently to go to Geneva without any very definite plan, in spite of the almost continuous meetings of the Cabinet's disarmament committee in the last few days. There is no particular objection to that. Plans in abundance are in existence at Geneva. The trouble is to get agreement on any one of them. It is 'obviously necessary at this stage for Ministers with authority to commit their governments to be present at the Conference. An-agreement on the abolition of military aviation is still possible, and if that could be got out of the Conference it would be well worth while, but whether either the French or the Germans would accept that by itself is highly doubtful. The vote given by Germany and Italy. on Tuesday against the French mutual assistance project is sinister, for if the French demands for security are rejected France's assent to the German claim to equality lapses. That means the end of the conference and a new impulse to the propagation of suspicion and mistrust. * *
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