The Washington herald., 1922-01-15
London Must Fight Paris
i. Or Buy Her Off at Genoa
Gallo Supremacy Hinges on Saving Small Ma
tons of Middle Europe, While England
Would Help Germany.
By FRANK II. SIMoNDS

Alrsady the washington ContcIcnCc
IL very clearly giving way for that
gathering at Genoa ut which the
problem Of economic degeneration will
replace that OF disarmament. In
reality. however, tn ere will be a new
field for a battle, the battle between
the British and French conceptions
Of Europe. the battle bstween the two
maps. the political and the economic
map.
And since il Is about these con-
fiicting conceptions that the struggle
OF the forthcoming conference will
csnter, I shall try In the present
article briefly to present the French
and British views. Genoa will be in
many ways the most ambitious and
important international undertaking
since the Paris conference. Sue
cess there will not impossibly start
the wheels OF the industrial world
turning. and failure may spell ruin
for Europe: and success or failure
will coma as British and French rep
resentatives are able to- compromise
or, bound by the views Of their re-
spective nations repeat the recent
Washington performance over the
submarine.
French Thesis simple.
What is the French conception Of
Europe? Primarily political. where
the British Is economic. France sees
the future safety of the Europe
created by the treaty Of Versailles,
and only In such a Europe Is thehe
any security for France. dependent
upon the survival OF the so-called
succession states" the countries
created or greatly transformed by the
Paris treaties which liquidated the
world war.
The French thesis Is quite simple.
BY virtue OF thu decisions reached
at Paris, Poland regained a freedom
which had been destroyed more than
a full century before Rumania BY
acquiring lands inhabited by Latin
majorities more than doubled her
population. Czecho- Slovakia succeed
ed to that title OF Bohemian independ-
ruce the last resemblance Of which
disappeared In the fatal days OF the
thirty years. war. Jugo-Slavia gather
ed under one sovereignty all OF the
Southern Slsvs, hitherto divid I'd over
centuries.
Poland Her Ally.
Now the French idea is that II
these several states, Poland with
Rumania with nearly $4,000. 900,
Czecho-Slovakia with $4,000, 900 and
Jugo-Slavia with more than 1.o0o.-
900, can endure long enough to ac-
qulre national solidarity and political
unity, TO get a real start in life, so
to speak. then the new Europe. which
is expressed by them. will also en-
endure. French diplomacy has sought
then, by systems Of alliances to in
sure this survival and a system of
alliance has brought into q measure
OF agreem snt nearly 100000 Of
people.
Behind this combination, numerical
ly impressive at least, stands France
with 100000 OF people and the
strongest army in the world. TIL,
French army is the real guarantor of
the Independence. Of Poland, always
threatened by Germany, and the
Polish army may on day prove as
valuable an aid to France as was
the Russian army in the terrible days
which preceded the battle Of the
Marne in September, 1914.
Future for warsaw.
French statesmen believe that IL
Poland can have time to achievs a
real national organization, she will
become one OF the great powers of
Europe, for she has a greater area
and natural resources than Italy
and a population which increases
with very great rapidly. A Poland
OF forty or even fifty millions OF
Inhabitants could one day serve as
r. solid barrier to any German ex-
psnsion eastward any German ex-
ploitation Of Russia, which to the
French mind would threaten Eu-
ropean liberty.
similarly as bulwark against
Russian advances into the center OF
Europe. Also larger than Italy
with a fertile country and a prolific
people <Rumania is bound one day
to hold a population at least as
great as that OF France or Italy
today. And in alliance with Poland.
Rumahia becomes a guarantor of
things as they stand in the east
"f Europe. Moreover. a strong Ru-
mania. united by alliance with
JuGo-Slavia. bars the road of Ger
man advance southwark, closes the
door to that Mitteleuropa of which
we heard so much during the world
war.
Germany Faces Bars.
II you look at the map you will
see that Poland, Rumatia and
Juso-Slavls. stretching in a wide
circle from the Baltic to t1e Adri-
attic, Bar the pathway Of Germany
toward Constantinople, toward the
Aegean and the Black seas, toward
Russia. Moreover. the great penin-
sulz Of Bohemia, which detaches
itself from this mass OF non-Ger-
man territory and extends north
ward, holds the dominant fraction
OF that Czecho -Slovak population
whose future depends upon restric-
ton of German aspirations.
Rumania and Poland are today
united by an alliance which envis-
ages any attempt OF Russia to de-
stroy the Independence or restrict
the area of either. Poland and
Czecho- Slovakia are united in com |
mon defense OF their independence
against a German attack. Czech
Sloyakia, Rumsnia and Jugo-Slavia |
are united to preserve the status
quo In the Danube Valley. to re-
strict any attempts OF the Hungar-
ians or the Bulgarians to regain
territori IS lost in recent wars FL |
nally Greece is also bound by an
agreement to act with Rumania ana |
Jugo-Slavia, against any BULGARIAN
attack upon either.
German Purpose Evident.
France believes that this system
OF alliances will insure the pres
ervation OF existing conditions for |
At least two decades, certainly for