The Washington herald., 1922-01-22


moment when at last he had OBJ
tsined an alliance with Britain-an
alliance long sought by France. and
regarded as the irreducible mini
mum of the concessions France must
receive before she would consent to
participate in the economic recon
struction of Europe. But two cir
cumstances are overlooked; first,
the fact, that for a year . British
alliance has been losing its attrac-
tion for France, and. secondly. that
this alliance was accompanied by
conditions which made IL appear
dangerous rather than desirable to
the French.
Had Faith In Britain.
On the subject OF the Anglo
French alliance there Is this to be
noted: Three years ago, at the close
of the world war, with the shadow
Of the German invasion still hang
ing over their heads. Frenchmen
clunE to the British alliance as the
thing which had proven the deter
mining factor in the war; they be-
lieved that the alliance which had
brought victory in the war would
prove equally valuable in peace and
that the British and the French
policies would march together In
the world reconstruction period as
they had in the war time. 1t was In
this spirit that Clemenceau nego-
tfated the treaty of guarantee for
France, signed by Mr.. Wilson and
Mr.. Lloyd George. and in return
agreed that France should not seek
that Rhine frontier which she sur
rendered after the fall of Napoleon.
Three years later. however, France
Is in a different state of mind. Ger
many has been disarmed; French
armies stand along the Rhine and
will remain there for a dozen years
to come under the treaty Of Yer
sailes. AL chance Of a German in
vasion of France in the next decade
Is negligible. No military man will
venture to suggest that Germany
can in ten years time prepare and
deliver a serious attack upon
France Therefore, a British alli-
ance for ten years actually gives
France protection only against an
imaginary danger, and simply for
period of time in which no attack Is
conceivable. Twenty, thirty years
from now Germany may attack
again. but the alliance which Mr..
Lloyd George offered to NJ BRAND
at Cannes would terminate at the
end Of ten years.
aSwhat Elsef, Asks France.
France. then-feeling herself for
the moment safe against any Ger
man aggression, asks not unnat-
urally what are the further condi-
tons attached to this proposed An
Elo-French alliance? Here. after all,
Is discoverable the immediate ex-
PLANTATION for NJ. BRANDS fall. To
get an alliance of doubtful prac-
teal value, he seems to have agreed
In a large measure to accept the
British view as to the reconstruc-
tion OF Europe and the British view
as everybody knows carries with it
a great reduction in the sum total
Of German reparations. a consider
able period of postponement of all
German payments, and a relaxation of
an force and threats of force
toward Germany. Thus, from the
PoIncare point of view, France was
asked to pay something serious for
next to nothing, and the French
Chamber of Deputies seems to have
taken the view OF the former presi-
dent of the republic
We are once more brought face
to face with the conflict of opinion
which has dominated the whole world
situation since the moment of the
armistice. 1t is the British view that
all reconstruction and restoration in
the economic field have waited and
still wait upon a proper adjustment
of the reparations tangle. Great Brit
ain believes that Germany has been
asked to pay too much and that SO
far from enforcing extreme terms
upon Germany the salvation of the
economic world must be sought in
the restoration Of the German eco
nomic system to health and prosperity.
Germany Is now bankrupt. Therefore,
from the British point OF view, she
must be treated like any other bank
. rupt and allowed to get back on her
feet To this end the British in
sist that France, the principal cred
itor. should make concessions and
above all recognize the fact in the
German situation.
Believe Collapse Deliberate.
The Frenchman on his side retorts
with the statement that the German
bankruptcy Is deliberate, has been
produced by a concealment of assets.
by a manipulation of finance, by a
deliberate imitation OF currency; IN
a word. that the German has thrown
himself into bankruptcy for the pur-
pose of evadins payment and remains
capable OF paying II he wants to.
In the argument between the Eng
lishman and the Frenchman the signi-
fcank fact Is that neither one of them
sees the position or meets the argu-
ment of the other squarely because
each has such great interests of his
own at stake. 1t Is a fact that un-
less Germany gets on her feet a
general European Improvement Is un-
likely. 1t Is true that the present
paralysis in Europe constitutes a
deadly peril for Great Britain, as II
constitutes a material handicap to the
United States. Millions OF men and
women are-out Of work in the British
Isles because there Is no market for
what they were accustomed to pro-
duce. and there can be no market
until European order is restored The
Englishman therefore, sees Europe as
a market wherein he must trade to
live and he sees the paralysis now
existing as the cause OF the most
acute industrial crisis in his history.
when the Englishman talks about
restoring Europe. starting the wheels
OF the world to turning again. he IL
thinking Of that restoration in terms
Of English necessities. He Is con-
scinus of the fact that delay in this
restoration has brought upon him