The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-24
by PHILIP FRANCIS.

Washington may have been Aris-
tide BRAND when he read the
press comment on his address to
the conference. Nobody got his
real point. Nobody seemed ever
to suspect what he was driving at.
1t was funny to see the states
men who do not know whether
"out" is French for yes or ouch,
trying to look immensely interest
ed and pleased by M. Brands flow
of mellifluous sentences, but those
little tricks of vanity are not un-
known in much wiser and better
educated circles than those Of
politics.
Nevertheless, M. Brands ad-
dress was translated into English,
and 1t does seem amazing that the
whole body of American journal
lists overlooked it's meaning and
purpose.
In effect M Brands address
was a yelled and not too heavily
yelled, declaration of defiance to
England and Italy. Neither Bal
four nor Schanzer needed to be
told that. Nor did any one else in
the foreign delegations or their
suites.
1t is only our own press, for the
most part SO deplorably without
any clue to European policies and
intrigues, that could make the lu-
dicrous mistake Of welcoming M.
Brands note of defiance as
sign Of renewed allied solidarity.
As things stand in Europe to-
day, British diplomacy has isolated
France and has cemented a senti-
ment Of agreement among Eng
land, italy and Germany which is
much in the nature Of an entente.
The Italian sentiment toward
France is more than cool. II is
suspicious and 1t is unfriendly.
The Italian sentiment toward
Germany is certainly friendly
and is almost warm and cordial.
Frances only possible allies
are the new states reated by the
dismemberment Of the Hapsburg
empire, and Germany and Italy
lie between France and her weak
allies.
With an established German
Italian entente confronting her,
francois alliance with Poland
and other small eastern European
states would not be worth the
powder and shot it took to Gre
ate the alliance. France would
be then alone and utterly with
out any other reliance than her
own army.
The address of M. BRAND was
therefore a notice to England
and Italy that France recognized
the new situation and was deter
mined to confront it with her
army, and determined to keep
that army on war footing and
on an immense scale.
All the talk about danger from
German military revival and Rus
sian bolshevism was merely dip
lomatic camouflage-entirely for
American benefit.
The fact is that the war has
left Italy a very powerful ma
ton, with strong national aspira-
tions to move her boundaries and
dominion eastward along the
Adriatic coast, and since the old
menace of Austria Hungary has
disappeared Italy now sees her
opportunity to renew her former
undoubted friendship for Ger
many and to take the command
ing position once occupied by
Austria in Central Europe.
As part of this plan, Austria
will be encouraged to seek an
nexation to the German repub-
lie, a result which would 60 far
to compensate Germany for the
loss of Alsace-Lorraine and her
Silesia territory.
In her anxiety to rebuild trade
with central and eastern Europe,
England can be depended on to
side with the German-Italian
view. Then, if England should
succeed in forming and becom-
ing the dominating member of a
triple entente between herself,
America and Japan, the British
empire would again, in a few
years, exercise authority over all
Europe, with Germany and Italy
profiting by that situation and
France sinking into the condition
of a third-rate power.
That and that alone is the OBJ
ject against which M. BRAND
voiced his firm intention to keep
French militarism at it's height of
numbers and equipment. Nor can
any one blame or do anything but
praise a French statesman for
thus proclaiming the purpose of
France to maintain by arms and
preparedness the position in Eu-
rope which France would certainly
lose il British diplomacy had its
way unhindered by fear of
Frances military establishment
This, too, is the real reason of
M. Brands unhesitating opposi-
ton to the British proposal to limit
the number and size of subma-
rines The French see through
that proposal, II our statesmen
and press do not, and they will
have none of it.