Evening star., 1922-12-17
CLEMENcEAU TRIP .
UNDERF|RE ABROAD
French Surprised That He
Was SkepticaI About Eng
land in 1918.
TREATY WISDOM DOUBTED
Success of Voyage, However, to De-
pend on Resulting Ameri-
can Views.
TREATY WISDOM DOUBTED
BY STEPHANE LAUZANNE.

EditOr-in- Chief Of lie Mnttn.
(By Cable to The Star and New York Tribune
Copyright 1922)
PARIS, December 16.-When these
lines appear in The Star. NJ. Clemen-
ceau will be nearing France. Now,
more than ever. the question can be
asked:
HAS the voyage been successful
one"
I'm Clemenceau really has silenced
the accusations of Imperialism and
milita rism, which produce a feelihs
near to eXasperation in France, Well
and good. the trip has been a great
success And no one in France VIII
erudge his gratitude to NJ. Clemen-
ceau But if after all his speeches
after all his trips, after all MS
rhetorical adjurations. the accusation
of militarism and of imperialism per
sists in being sent forth from Amer
lea. then the voyage will have been
! a failure" and NJ. Clemenceau would
have done just as well to have re-
manned at home. Thus. at least
reasons French public opinion.
Storm In senate.
Al the moment this opinion is par
ticularly struck by the fact that the
Clemenceau has had the effect of
causing the outbreak of i storm in
the Senate at Washington. And
French ears have never heard such
disas sreeable. such hard. nay. ! may
frankly say. such unjust Words. as
those which were pronounced by Sen
ator Hitchcock. Senator Borah ana
Senator Smoot at the sitting on No
vember 23.
1t is curious t" note that the Sen
ate acclaimed Joffre and Niviani IN
1917 and that il was most courteous
to NJ. BRAND and to NJ. Eiviani in
1921 The French ENJOYS who have
preceded NJ. C!emenceau in America.
Notwithstanding all the reproaches
which were addressed to them later,
had at least the merit of not dis
pleasing the highest assembly which
the United States possesses and not
to cause outbursts of protestations
and criticisms.
Moreover. certain declarations of
NJ Clemenceau have dumfounded
French public opinion One sentence
especially of his speech at the Met
ropolitan Opera House. New York.
has astounded his partisans and eX-
cited his opponents.
when the armistice came said
NJ Clemenceau. Il felt already that
heart with us" to which practically
the whole French opinion exclaims:
"Why. then. has NJ. Clemenceau
made treaty of peace which from
the first to the last line implied a
whole hearted confidence in England
and the other allies%'
Psychological Error"
From the beginning many French
, men had bitterly reproached NJ. Glenn
enceau with having made, at the
peace conference. what they termed "a
psychological error" They reproach-
ed him with having built up his en-
tire treaty on the assumption that
there would exist an everlasting en-
tente between all the allies---which
was humanity impossible. They re-
preached him with having multiplied
the interallied commissions, the inter
allied procedures and the interallied
arrangements But the same French
men who made these reproaches firm
" believed that NJ. Clemenceau did
not have the slightest indication of
future Emergencies. Now they hear
from his own lips that as early as
November IL, 1918, when the allies
table of the conference, he already
had felt that England was no more
whole heartedly with the French and
was drawing on her own side.
IL is eXactly as II an arCh1ttCt Were
to lay the foundations of sky
scraper on shifting sand. His only
excuse can be that he thought he was
on rock. But, if he tells you, "No, l
knew perfectly well that my building
was laid on shifting sands. neverthe-
less. l went ahead you can't have
a great admiration for his skill, and
you have even the right of asking
him to render some account for his
action.
All this proves that Mr.. Clemenceau
has stirred up ideas and passions
which it would. perhaps, have been
preferable to leave dormant. Above
all. Franco-American friendship, al
though 1t be as firm as an oak, does
not need to be shaken up according
to the fancieS of politics.
France has numerous and feryent
friends in America. The voyage of
Mr.. Clemenceau will not make them
more numerous or more feryent.
France has also critics in America.
The trip of Mr.. Clemenceau will not
disarm them. A political trip which
does not increase the number of your
friends and which does not decrease
the number of your opponents is a
useless trip.