The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-11
AMERICAN TROOPS
|. STAY ON THE RHINE
Harding's Plan lof With
drawal Upset By Ger
many's Refusal to Pay
WILL TAKE NO ACTIVE
PART WITH ALLIES

Europe Must Exact LIS Own Penalties
President Will Adopt New European
Policy if Germany Continues Obstinate
Hopes for Settlement Soon.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch TO The Reformer
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, March 11.-Ameri-
can troops will remain ON the Rhine at
least until the present emergency arts
ing out of Germany,s refusal to accept
the PREPARATION proposals of the allies
is cleared up. The first act of the Hard
ing administration toward Europe is, to
be sure of passive policy but it is not
without a certain significance. Mr..
Harding had announced during the cam
paign that American troops would be
brought back from the Rhine as quickly
as possible after his ELECTION Arrange
ments had been made through the Re.
publican leaders in congfess who handle
appropriations to cause.-the withdrawal
of the American contingent at an early
date. The sudden turn. of events abroad
has, however made 10 necessary to-
make temporary change here. too
President Harding discussed tie whole
question with his cabinet at the FIRST
meeting. Examination of the Instrue-
lions given General Allen in command
of American troops revealed the fact
that it WAS unnecessary for the Ameri-
| can forces to move in any direction on
account of the advance of the allied
troops and that there. would be no par
ticular harm done if they simply stayed
where they were. Thus the allied forces
alone would exact penalties from Ger
many and be in the position of enforc-
ing the terms of the treaty. To the ex-
| tent that the United States has decided
to take no part in the enforcement of
| the treaty terms it can be assumed that
there has been no change in the deter
mination of Mr. Harding gradually TO
| WITHDRAW America from active partici-
| patton in European affairs even though
they do bear a relationship to the war
in which America was associated with
| the other powers.
On the other hand. the Harding adj
/ miniStratiOn realizes full we'll that there
| i no necessity for adopting an attitude
| of gratuitOuS Indifference to European
affairs from moral viewpoint and the
argument has been effectively made that
if the United States withdrew her
troops at the very moment when the al
| lied forces were advancing, il might be
lmiSconStrued by the Germans as an act
of disapproval by the United States of
allied policy and might .stiffen the backs
of the Germans.
So for the present it is the Harding
| policy as communicated to the state and
war departments and concurrcd in by
! Secretaries Hughes and Weeks that
! nothing be done TO aggravate the situa-
ton abroad either with respect to the
| allies or Germany ami American troops
therefore will sit tight and maintain a
| neutral attitude
| Technically the United States and
i Germany are still at war and the Amer
| lean forces on the Rhine are merely
/ carrying out the terms of the armistice
/ by which certain territory was to be
| held by the American troops until a
/ treaty of peace is signed. Everybody
| realizes that the failure of the United
| States to sign the treaty negotiated at
Paris has created an anomalous situation
from a legal standpoint though in eff
feet, the maintenance or withdrawal of
the American forces is really of little
military Importance, or of relatively lit
tie expense to anybody The Germans
are required by the terms of the armis-
tice to pay all the expenses of the armies
of occupation, including that of the
United States, and while the American
government is advancing the funds, the
payments will be made in due course by
the Germans Alas for strategic conSid-
erations, the advance of the allies has
been beyond the points occupied by the
American forces and broadly speaking
the American troops are not in the way
and can stay where they are without EN-
barrassment to the allied military plans
OF course if the present muddle over
reparationS continues unsettled when the
special session of congress convenes next
month. the Harding administration will
broaden its passive policy to include a
postponement of the plan to pass the
Knox peace resolution. Obviously the
United States would not negotiate peace
with Germany if there were an open
breach between the allies and the Ger
mans. The expectation. however. is that
by the time the congress gets back to
Washington the European situation will
have been clarified sufficiently to enable
the Harding administration to proceed
with its plans for the making of peace
| with .Cprmany