Evening star., 1920-05-03
SAN REMO0PPOS
SCRAPP|NG TREATY
Germany Not to Be Restored
at Expense of
Allies,
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.

In so far as the results of the San
Reno conference are accurately dis
closed in the formal statements which
have been issued blythe participants,
this gathering represents a complete
reverse for that fraction of the Brit
ish public press and public men
which has undertaken to establish
the principle that the treaty of Yer
sailles must be "scrapped" as the
first step toward improving interna-
tional relations, and that in place
of making Germany pay anything.
France, Poland and the United States
should be compelled or invited to
pay the costs of the rehabilitation of
Germany.
OF these voices which have been
raised in protest from the moment OF
the signing of the treaty of Versailles
many were heard during the war cry
ing out against the prosecution of
the fight to a decisive end, while
some of them declared against Brit
ish participation in the war at the
moment when the Germans assailed
measure this view represents that
odd fusion of pacificism, idealism and
enlightened self-interest. which the
world has come to regard as the
normal product of Manchester.
Lowers Feeling for England.
1t cannot be disguised that this
agitation has injured Great Britain
in the eyes of the nations which were
associated with her in the war and
in the peace-making, for the very
simple reason that in the peace
making the lions share of the spois
of victory fell to the British. This
was due in part to the accidents of
the war itself and in part to the
skill of the British displomats at
Paris. which far surpassed that of
all other negotiators.
But looking at the British gains, re-
eulting from the common effort and
the common sacrifice. the French
might well be pardoned some indig-
nation at seeing an influential ele-
ment in Britain, momentarily pos
sessed of the ear of the prime minis
ter. insisting that France should re-
sign her far more moderate gains and,
above all, her own security. in the in
terests of new world settlement,
Whlie no suggestion was advanced
that any sacrifice should be made by
Britain. To ask France to resign her
coal 1ndemnilies in the Sarre, the
roles to surrender their claims to up
per Silesia, to ask the continental ma
tions to abandon guarantees and rep
arations. far less impressive in the
aggregate than British profits in the
interests OF better peace, of a Ger
man rehabilitation. is to ask much
and to ask it uselessly. even danger
ously.
Exactly the same was true when cor
tain spokesmen of this British school.
notably Keynes, proposed that the
United States should. by canceline the
loans made to the European nations
.s,r.. 80 VII ns in the war. con-
restoring Germany. thfs $4,000. .0O0.-
200. in fact. to be deducted from the
sum total of German payments. No
one can mistake the resentment this
proposal excited wherever in the
United States it was understood.
Wiser Policy at San Remo.'
Now at San Reno a wiser policy
tempt to save European economic iife
~ restoring Germany at the expense
OF all the nations attacked by her
save only Britain. has been rejected
heeu. ths 40 tne conference has adopted
germany to give evidence of a Will
1ngness to perform, in SO far az she
can, under the Versailles document
anu leaVing to the future the deter
ron nn.ra OF now Tar honest effort to
workable. as uh-
Aside from its effect upon tho no
t1ons associated with Great Britain in
tne alliance which won the war tha
wosst feature OF the British agitation
was the degree to which it encour-
ana tne Germans to refuse to COM
ply with the treaty in any respect
actually the result of the attempt to
save Germany economically has been
70 give aid and comfort to precise
tnose elements in Germany which
precipitated the war gave to the
struggle its inhuman character and
caused those devastations and de-
structions for which Germany is now
asked to pay.
On the subject of the necessity to
neip to restore the economic life of
germany there is no wide difference
OF opinion anywhere in the world. The
French quite as much as the British
would De glad to see Germany going
back to normal life with the same
promptitude which France displayed
after 1870. Germany complying with
tne terms of the treaty of Versailles
as .oyaily as the French complied
With those Of the treaty Of Frank
TORT would be for the French the
most pleasing of all possible pros
poets.
Dimculty About Germany.
But the difficulty has been and re-
mains that Germany has not accepted
the treaty of Versailles: instead from
the outset she has adopted a policy
sistance and open defiance. Con-
ceded that there are portions of the
treaty which are unenforceable, it is
not less true that there are portions
winch the whole world agrees should
be enforced. But it is precisely these
provisions which the world believes
should be applied that the Germans
are most eagerly seeking to evade.
particularly the disarmament clauses
The mood of the world is quite
different from the prevailing senti-
ment of 1918. 1t is a matter of COM
mon agreement that Germany could
obtain from her conquerors very real
and very great concessions. provided
only she displayed the smallest evil
dence of any Willingness to accept
the decision Of the war, to abandon
her old leaders and her old policies
But II the world undeniably feels less
bitter toward the German people to-
day than IL did year or two years
ago. it does not feel more kindly to-
ward the military leaders of the
5unker policy. And precisely these ell
ements and these policies retain
ascendancy in Germany. as witnessed
by recent events. The republic re-