Evening star., 1919-12-20
FRENCH TREATY is DOOMED
TO DEFEAT, MR.. SIMONDS FEARS
Washington in Full Reaction, He Says, and
Effect on Great Britain and France
May Be Far-Reaching.

VIII withdraw their agreement to re-
tire from the Rhine and one of the
most important provisions of the treaty
of Versailles will be abandoned
Nor is it proba BILE that the British
under the circumstances will continue
to press the French to quit the Rhine.
with the United States removed as a
guarantor of the treaty of Versailles
! British, concern over German mill
tary policy becomes far greater If
the Germans ever get to Calais they
can bonn bard London just as they
bombarded Paris from the vicinity of
Laon. Thus Britain is almost as much
interested as France in compelling
the Germans to begin any new at
tacks as far away as possible from
! Calais.
In France the rejection of the
| Anglo French American treaty is
bound to have the gravest pos
sible consequences. 1t will be re-
garded by the French as the ultima te
proof of an American intention to
abandon France and retire from all
European responsibilities, and it will
destroy the last vestige of French
support for the league of nations or
| the ideas of President Wilson.
Unless all signs fail, it will be the
signal for an immediate and far
reaching reaction to European meth
DDS. For the Anglo French Italian al
lance is based upon mutual recogn1-
t1on of special intereSt-thoSe of France
on the Rhine and those of Italy along
the Adriatic. More than this. it will
lead to more and far severer terms in
the case of Germany, amounting to a
revision, of the treaty of Versailles.
The defeat of the French treaty, and,
as / have said, under present condi-
tionS Washington regards the defeat
as inevitable, will deprive France of
the chief advantage the treaty of Yer
sailles bestowed upon the nation. 1t
will materially affect in an adverse
fashion the exchange and economic
situation already extremely bad, and
it will prove disappointment which
can hardly be exaggerated.
Full Reaction Now Evident.
At the present moment, however
Washington is in full reaction from
the mood of the Paris conference and
from the American spirit of a year
ago.
The failure of the country at large
to indicate any clear resentment over
the defeat of the German treaty and
the apparent WEAKNESS and indiffer-
| ence of the people in the matter OF
European dangers or duties have led
those opposed to the treaty of Ner-
sailleS to believe that their action has
met with public approval and to con-
clude that the defeat of the French
treaty will prove even less d matter
of general regret.
The real pity of the situation, plain
to any one familiar with European
facts, is that the American rejection
of the French treaty will be accepted
in Germany as an advertisement that
the United States is no longer inter-
ested in the fate of France. This may
well start the Germans on a new cam
paign for world power and for re-
venge. This campaign may be avoid
ed if the Germans saw French Sc
strength. But Washington today is
totally unconcerned with the Euro
pean consequences of it's action. Like
Pitt on a famous occasion, it has roll
| ed up the map of Europe
lCopyris hit, 1919 Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate t.