Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-05
FRANCO-BRITISH
RELATIONS.

and irritation between France
and England has been matter o.
comment in the French and British
press. Now it has reached the point
where responsible ministers Of each
nation give voice to words Of warn
ing and sarcastic comment. Pre-
mier BRAND is quoted as saying be-
fore he sailed that Great Britain
ought to keep her dreadnaughts be-
cause she needed them to catch
sardines with, and Lord Curzon is
quoted as saying that the peace OF
Europe will not be safeguarded II
any one power tries to steal secret
march on another and conclude an
arrangement for economic privilege
in its own account. Plainly he re-
ferred to the recent treaty with the
nationalists in Turkey made by
France without consulting Great
Britain which holds Constantinople.
The Springfield Republican COM
menting on this subject says:
"The gist of Lord Curzon's some
what sensational speech in London
Thursday lies in the words, Peace
will never be achieved if any one
power tries to steal march on an
other and conclude an arrangement
on its own account" This refers to
the treaty which France made with
the Turkish nationalists on the eve
of the Washington conference, and
which has put the French and Brit
ish delegations on rather awkward
terms. Great Britain made formal
protest, the text Of which was for
warded to Premier BRAND at Wash
ington and no doubt had its effect
upon his attitude there. The Lon
don Daily Chronicle which reflects
the views of the prime minister
held that the surreptitious conclu-
sion of this treaty must be taken to
show that France considered the
alliance at an end.
CLOSELY coupled with Lord Cur
cons protest against the treaty was
his profession of friendliness to
Germany, and this is the part that
will most stir Paris. Nominally his
theme was the Washington confer
ence; what he had to say Of it and
of the prospect for reduction OF
ornaments was based upon the new
divergence in Anglo-French rela-
tions which explains Premier Bri-
and's peculiar role at the confer
ence. 1t will be recalled that in an
nouncing his purpose of going to
Washington the premier told the
reporters that he would be delight
ed to meet Lloyd George on another
field, and suggested that this time
it would be for Great Britain and
not for France to make the conces-
sions; that Great Britain would be
disposed to meet the United States
half way in the matter OF naval arm
aments may not have entered into
his calculations. His remarks and
the gloss put upon them by the
Paris press indicated that the part
French delegation would be largely
shaped by disputes which had no
direct bearing on the questions
scheduled for discussion at Wash
ington.
"This helps to explain why the
British secretary for foreign affairs
in discussing the work of the con-
ference and Brands plea for the
maintenance Of a strong French
army, puts the strongest emphasis
on the need of peaceful policies in
Europe. The security Of France, he
bluntly declares, lies not in its army
but in the fact that the great pow
ers of Europe and America will
not tolerate the temperance in the
heart of Europe of great and
dangerous power that was always
rafting it's sword in the scabbard
as a menace to the peace Of the
world" For the moral disarma-
ment of Germany insisted upon by
BRAND it was necessary, he said,
for the great powers to make it
clear that no policy of retaliation
or revenge would be tolerated, and
that Germany, if she shows good
faith, will be assisted to play her
part.
This passage has deep signifi-
canoe at the present moment, be-
cause it is evident that a new Eu-
ropean crisis is approaching with
the imminent bankruptcy of Ger
many. Whether she can scrape to-