The Traffic in Arms The news that Great Britain, the
United States and France have agreed at Geneva on a plan for control of the arms traffic is something, though several nations whose acceptance of any plan is vital have not yet accepted this one. (What a single nation can do in the way of obstruction is shown by Italy's decision to make her acceptance of the Paraguay-Bolivia arms embargo conditional on the fulfilment of existing con- tracts, which run for ten years, and the assent of Japan, which is not in fact sending arms to either combatant.) The new arms-control scheme seems to be modelled on the export and import certificate system which has worked so well in the case of opium. Every export has to be licensed- by the Government of the exporting country, and the licence will only be granted on receipt of a certificate from the Government of the importing country that the transaction is approved by it. Par- titulars of every transaction are reported to an inter- national body,- which in this ease will be the Permanent Disarmament Commission. This does not, of course, involve any abolition of the private manufacture of arms, to whose admitted evils the League of Nations Covenant draws pointed attention, but it does involve national control and international publicity. It is not a heroic proposal, but it is better than nothing.
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