Evening star., 1921-08-07
VERSAILLES TREATY
i RULES gFRENCH ACTS
Tardieu Asserts Disregard of Pact's. Terms
Has Caused Present Silesian
Controversy.
by ANDRE TARDIEU.
Former French High Commissioner to
America.

by ANDRE TARDIEU.
Former French High Commissioner to
America.
By Cable to The Star.
PARIS. August 6.-After their sharp
exchange of notes. France and Eng
land have agreed upon a procedure
on the eve of the meeting of the al
lied supreme council. Joint repre-
sentations are to be made to Berlin
demanding passage through Germany
for allied troops which may be
judged necessary in Silesia- The de-
cision as to the need of these REIN
forcements rests with the council.
This sums up the result of the la
borious negotiations. As with the
Ruhr occupation three months ago,
action at first declared necessary is
adjourned and even rendered doubt
full. The conclusion reached Is not
a victory for France. nor is it ad-
vantageous to Britain, which will
have to bear the blame If later de-
velopmentS show these reinforce
ments should have been sent weeks
ago.
Meanwhile the fundamental prob
lem remains. with profound disagree
ment at the partition of Silesia. False
motives. both military and economic.
have been attributed to France in
certain quarters. Nevertheless, the
French thesis is entirely lacking IN
ambiguity. let ME summarize it. The
treaty of Versailles declares:
Provisions Regarding Silesia.
First. the inhabitants will be
called upon to indicate by vote
whether they wish to be attached
to Germany or to Poland.
Second. the result of the vote
will be determined by communes.
according to majority votes In
each commune.
Third, a recommendation will
be communicated by the inter-
allied commission to the principal
allied and associated powers as to
the line which ought to be adopt
ed as Germany's frontier in Upper
Silesia. In this recommendation
regard will be paid to the wishes
Of the inhabitants as shown by
the vote and geographical and
economic conditions of the To-
cality.
Fourth. as soon as the frontier
Is fixed the German authorities
will be notified by the interallied
commission that they are free to
take over administration of the
territory recognized as German
Within the same period the Polish
government must proceed to take
over territory recognized as Po-
liSh."
Disregard of Treaty.
have quoted textually. for the
treaty is great book which few per-
sons have read. including many
statesmen who discuss it most freely
in the newspapers. Yet anybody read
ing the above text can have no doubt
oh he d.yf nf
and associated powers at this mo-
ment.
This duty consists in dividing Up
per SileSia on the basis of the votes
by communes. taking into consider
alton also the geographic and eco
nomic situation When the plebiscite
idea was adopted partition was con-
templated as the treaty shows. This
plan was then believed to favor Ger
many.
pie and clear. Injecting politics has
only obScured and unsettled it. Again
it is obvious that if Great Britain
had been more faithful to her 1919
signature and France less ready to
compromise. the situation today
more proof of the risks inherent in
disregarding international agree
mentS. In such a game everybody
loses. not only the allies but also
Germany. whose vital interest is to
raise herself to q more honest con-
ception of international relations.
Effect of Revisions.
By continual revisions of the trea-
ty. by the public recriminations. the
conquerors encourage the conquered
to persist in their detestable meth
ods. The invariable winner is the
pan German party which gains
strength from every such incident.
German revenge profits by .Europe's
constant uncertainty. while the small
democratic and pacifist elements in
Germany see authority diminished.
On May Z, 1919. when the treaty of
Versailles was handed to Brockdorff-
Rantzau and he delivered a diatribe
against the allies which everybody
remembers. Lloyd George said to me:
''It is hard for a conqueror to listen
to this" If Lloyd George reads the
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