The Fifth Session of the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament
Conference of the League of Nations began on Thursday, March 15th. Besides Lord Cushen- dun and other expected representatives of member nations, the United States were represented by Mr. Hugh Gibson and Admiral Long, with Admiral Hilary Jones as a late arrival. Turkey was represented by her Minister at Berne until Tewfik Rushdi Bey, the Foreign Minister, arrived. Those present received copies of a German memorandum advocating greater publicity about the armaments of the nations, without which each country is afraid of the unknown extent of its neighbours' forces. On Monday Turkey was invited to join the Security Com- mittee. Then M. Litvinoff introduced the Russian proposals for complete and immediate disarmament. He declared that Russia would disarm totally as soon as other nations did, although he defended her present enormous forces on the ground that she was surrounded by hostile countries.
