New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-04-14
L rance Stands
For Policy of
Safety First
Openly Announces To British
and American Press That
She WillNotBe Drawn Into
Arms or Preparations Talk
Victorious but Insecure
BarthOu Insists ON Limiting
Genoa Conference Strict
~ to Economic Agenda
By Wilbur F orrest
Spoolal cable TO Tho Tfibnuc

! Copyright. 1929. New York Tribune Inc.
| GENOA, April -. --- France to-day
! scrapped the ancient secretive dip
| lomatc methods that dii so much harm
to the French case at the Washington
arms conference and through LOU
Barthou, chief of the Paris delegation
here, announced that henceforth French
diplomacy at Genoa would be an open
! book.
| To this end Barthou summoned all
the representatives of British and
American newspapers and outlined to
France has refused to discuss with
| Germany and Russia the subjects of
repa rations and reduction Of arma,
ments. He echoed Brands Washing
lton declaration that Frances desire FOR
peace was never so keen, but she de-
sired, along with peacc, to preserve her
rights and her security.
France stands here at Genoa as a
nation victorious in war, but her situa-
tion is unprecedented in history be-
cause of the lack of guarantees for
| her security" said Barthon. I'VE have
no agreements to this end either with
Great Britain or the United States.
France lost whole generation Of her
young men. If she really had the in
teDtons attributed to her to-day she
would be foolish If Germany had be
come q real democracy after the war
and had given proof OF her good faith
France would never have had to take
precautions.
viii Stick to Agenda
France is at Genoa to-day to talk
on financial and economic affairs. She
will refuse to talk of disarmament or
reparationS. While Russia and Ger
many discuss questions listed on the
conference agenda, we Will regard them
| as on an equal footing with other ma
lions here, Otherwise their position
is entirely different.
I'm England and the United States
France is looked on as nation with q
knife in her pocket and n revolver in
her belt. What about Germany? While
her representatives. were sitting at the
Genoa conference twenty French SOL
diers were killed at Gleiwitz, Upper
Silesia, by bomb made with war ma
terials secreted by the Germans. Those
soldiers were carrying out the pro
visions of the treaty. And while Ger
many continues to set internal ma
chimes against the treaty Barthou re-
ferred to Berln's refusal to accept the
Reparation Commissions demands I
France must continue to take precau-
tons.
Barthou expressed keen regret that
| the United States was not represented
at Genoa. He denied current rumors
that he had had violent disagreement
proud to be on the most friendly terms
with the British Premier and explained
that he had had number of converse
tons with him in the last few days and
/ was motoring out tonight for another
! chat.
Turn to United States
The French spokesman did not go
into any detail of what steps he would
take to prevent the Germans from
/ bringing up the reparations question,
! but the Tribune correspondent learned
! from Seydoux. chief Of the French
| financial experts, that France will take
| the stand in the discussions that it is
absolutely useless to bring up the war
! debts problem in any form as long as
| the United States the only nation
qualified to talk about real money
was absent. Seydoux says that France
would be entire " willing to talk this
| question over in connection with a
consideration of ali the inter-Allied
debts, but France regards any separate
| discussion of German obligations as
| futile
This is accepted as indicating that
the French look to the United States
to raise this question, perhaps in a
separate conference of all the Allied
nations. Meanwhile. the French be-
lieve that their attitude toward bar
ring the reparations discussion here
will prevail, and they get some com
| fort on this score in British circles.