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Other evidence of discipline in the U. S. delegation and of leadership by Statesman Stimson: 1) Senators Reed and Robinson were overruled when they urged Mr. Stimson not to consent to the holding of conference sessions in secret, which became the rule after the first plenary session;* 2) After his initial reception of the press on reaching London (TIME, Jan. 27), Statesman Stimson held no more press conferences last week, though the chiefs of the other four delegations were accessible almost daily; 3) Asked for a Yes or No answer to the question, "Has Mr. Stimson any definite program in readiness to be submitted to the conference at the proper time?" the U. S. delegation's press spokesman (Minister to Switzerland Hugh R. Wilson) courteously replied, "I am sorry, but that is another question I cannot answer now."
Positive Tardieu. In a special radio broadcast, not to the World but to Frenchmen, French Prime Minister André Tardieu said:
"I predicted that the recent Hague reparations conference would succeed, and success came. I say now that the London conference will succeed. Success will come here also."
No one else made anything like so positive a statement at the conference last week. Positive, too, were a series of remarks which caused United Press Correspondent Pierre Salarnier to cable a story which began: "The British and American governments failed to reach an accord on naval policy as a result of Premier MacDonald's recent visit to Washington and today are farther apart than ever, Premier Tardieu of France told the United Press in an interview today.
"Assuming the role of a mediator between the two delegations, Tardieu said he 'must spend the day between MacDonald and Henry L. Stimson in an effort to reconcile American and British theories on several outstanding points.'
"Tardieu further insisted that the 'breach' between the two English-speaking nations actually had widened since the American navy department and the British Admiralty experts assumed a prominent part in the negotiations."
Normally stationed at Paris, Correspondent Salarnier has for a long time been on close terms with M. Tardieu, has received from him much information on various conferences of a perfectly proper but somewhat inside character. This his employers know. But Statesman Tardieu —possibly as a result of pressure from embarrassed Statesmen Stimson and MacDonald—soon issued to the Associated Press a flat repudiation of his statement to United Press. There were probably no hard feelings. In the diplomatic profession and the newspaper game it is mutally understood that indiscreet quotation will be followed by repudiation.*
On the assumption that the British and U. S. delegations actually were last week "further apart than ever," a great many things would become clear, including the need for negative statesmanship in public, and utter secrecy about all meetings between Statesmen Stimson and MacDonald until they had ironed out their differences.