El Nuevo mexicano., 1920-04-15
WHAT FRANCE FACES

vi NN
The invasion Of the nentralized Rhine ter
ritory BY German armed forces Is Q viola
tion Of the Versailles treaty which France
can NOT tolerate. saws the Washington Post.
The German government will either beat re-
treat Or there will be an advance BY the
French army important cities on the right
side Of the Rhine will be occupied By Mar.
ahal Foch, and II the show llgnt
there will be a resumption OF general hos
t~Ilifies. with consequences which can not be
foreseen. Presumably the Germans would
soon be crushed to the point OF unconditional
surrender, whereup France would impose
new conditions In a treaty supplementary 70
the pact Of Versailles.
Whether he United States would become
4 party to fresh hostilities Is a question for
the future. Germany's action is 9 breach
.of the armistice under which the United
States is maintaining troops on the Rhine
President Wilson, therefore mas soliu
grounds for cooperating with France IN sub
DUNG the Germans, If he hou decide upon
that course,
The extent to which Germany will pro
woke hostilities depends partly upon the
degree Of her military strength and partly
upon a possible inability OF the German gov
arnment to control events. The sword OF
war is like ain ill-sheathed knife, which cuts
the hand thta Yields II. If the invasion Of
neutral territory Is an attempt to gain per-
manent possession, It is probable that Ger
many is better prepared than the allies nave
supposed; in which case there will be a rp-
sumption Of the war, Germany probab y
bIunders again In her calculations Of an
allied strength and purpose. SO that, II she
provokes hOstiiiues, she is in for q ruder
Awakening than before, for France will not
listen d second time TO peace based upon IA
point OF $4,000 points. If the jaded but ever
vigilant defenders OF France must rush 70
her frontiers again they viii never return
until the German empire is disi0inted and
each separate German state reduced to mili'
tary Impotence.
The German empire should not have sur.
vived the war. 1t is a monstrosity which
has no excuse for existence, and until It is
ohliteratad there will be no assurance Of
neace il. the world. The Paris conference
naved the way for this newly threatened
war when ii refused to dismantle the war
machine created BY Bismarck. If France
can not smash that machine, It Is the duty
OF all the allies to help her.
The Versailles treaty provides that the
German regular army shall be cut to 100000
men by March 81. This was not done, There
are al least $4,000 men in the German
regular army, and the British war office estt
mates the number at 100000. IN addition,
there are 10000 men In the land forces Of
the regular navy; 10000 TO 10000 N the
armed oonstabuiary, 10000 to 100000 IN the
army reserves or .Zeitfreiwiliigen, and
100000 to 400. 900 In the civic guards OF
aElnwohnerwehren." Thns there are about
loco. 900 men in Germany available Tor quick
military duty, and probably all OF them are
veterans.
How are they armed and fnunitionedy
Probably very poorly, despite all suspected
efforts Of the Huns to replenish their war
material. The treaty requires Germany 70
surrender all but $4,000 rifles and $4,000
carbines, but It Is believed that az least
100000 titles have been hidden. There 10
ammunition for them, also. It has also been
reported that several thousand aiFplaues
ana several thousand threeinch rifles which
Mad been aecfeted near Berlin were diseoy'
cred recently by allied commissioner. II 30
they must have been sent Oh the double.
quick toward France, and there il no danger
that Marshal Foch would lose track q them