Letters to the Editor
[In view of the length of many of the letters which we receive, we would remind correspondents that we often cannat give space for lon# letters and that short ones are generally read with more attention. The length which we consiler most suitable is about that of one of our paragraphs on " News of the Week."—Ed. SPECTATOR.] "LA SECURITE " [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Dr. R. G. Walmsley, in his letter in your issue of August 22nd asks if it is not our duty to persuade France that she must pay the price of treaty revision for her security, but his letter implies that the fundamental fact of which we must persuade France is that her security does not lie in her armaments, but in making friends of other European nations, and especially of Germany. To this, I imagine, most people will agree, but there remains a problem on which it will be much more difficult to come to an agreement. How are we to persuade France of this fact ? Does anyone imagine that mere words will be sufficient when we ourselves are spending over a hun- dred millions a year on armaments at a time of economic crisis ? We persuade by our deeds, not by our words. The only way in which we can persuade France to abandon her faith in armaments is by abandoning our own faith in them- i.e., by making big reductions in our armaments quite apart from the consideration of what other countries are willing to do. Does Dr. Walmsley know of any other method of per-
suasion ?—I am, Sir, &c., H. J. PrucsErr. The Heights, West View, Ilkley.
Previous page
