End. The International Conference in London, called by Premiers MacDonald and Herriot in June (TIME, June30') and started in July (TIME, July 28), was at last satisfactorily concluded.
Hand Salutes. The ending of the all-important parley, held in order to fix the terms upon which the Experts' Plan is to be operated, was no milk and water affair. Statesmen puffed out their chests, sighed with relief; then a highly dramatic incident recharged the air with electrical emotion. The delegates had signed the final protocol of the agreement and were somewhat sheepishly regarding one another with a "that's that" expression on their faces, when Premier MacDonald started the electricity by shaking hands all round. The paw of Chancellor Marx he held long and earnestly, led its owner to Premier Herriot of France, seized the right hand of the latter and affectionately pressed it into that owned by Wilhelm Marx. German and Frenchmen's hands tightened in a cordial hand salute while Premier Ramsay smiled benignly on.
Words. In every Capital of the World, the new international agreement was acclaimed with gusto. Statesmen, politicians, officials, simple dignitaries, multifarious in political completion, and too numerous to mention, hailed the accord as "the opening of a new post-War Era." Excerpts from a few speeches and interviews:
A "White House spokesman": "The President believes that this is the most important result which has been accomplished since the armistice. ... It looks as if the end of the War had come at last and as if the beginning of an honorable and, we hope, lasting peace is at hand."
Ambassador Kellogg: "I may be too much of an optimist, but I believe this settlement is the dawning of a new day of hope for millions of people and the revival of industry and prosperity so necessary to the happiness and progress of mankind. . . ."
Premier MacDonald: "It is the first negotiated treaty since the War. It is the first peace treaty, because we sign it feeling that we have turned our backs on the horrors of war and on the mentality of war. . . . We have a long way to go before we reach the goal of peace and security, but we are on the right road."
Premier 'Herriot: "We now see the dawn and we hope to work till daylight is reached."
Chancellor Marx: "We hope that in the future the spirit of peace and reconciliation which has inspired this Conference will remain unimpaired." Away. The Conference ended at 9 o'clock in the evening. Within a few hours, practically all the delegates had quitted the capital of the Commonwealth. Premier MacDonald left at midnight for his native Lossiemouth in Scotland. The French caught the night packet for France. The Italians were gone by the first train in the morning. The Germans were found at Harwich in the early hours of the morning boarding a boat bound for The Fatherland. London became deserted overnight.