Evening star., 1923-07-01
british AIR POLICY
| DECLARED MENACE
Competitive Building Against
France Seen as Death
Blow to Entente.
BY ANDRE TARDIEU.
Former French High Commissioner to
the United States.

the United states.
By Cable TO The Star.
PARIS, June 30.-England's official
announcement that she intends to be-
come supreme In the air is fraught
with the gravest danger Whoever
remembers the past, and thinks of
the future, must reject such a project
founded on the basis officially stated
by Premier Stanley Baldwin. The
world war overwhelmingly justified
the entente cordiale, yet only five
years afterward that policy is treated
as irrevocably damned. This fact.
and the Psychology 1t reveals, is far
graver than isolated disagreements,
like the Ruhr. because the whole
moral foundation of glo-French
policy seems crumbling.
Just at the moment that the Anglo
French experts are meeting in Lon
don trying. in collaboration with
Spain, to solve the ancient and vexa-
tious Tangier question. come these
noisy speeches in the house of COM
mons. They must make the Tommies
and Peilus who died for a common
cause turn over in their graves.
This debate revolves around mill
tary aviation. Britain, which former
ly insisted on the two-power naval
standard. now asserts her air forces
must equal the strongest nation.
Naturally she looks toward France.
1t is declared the number OF military
planes in the British Isles is inferior
to the number in France. Therefore.
1T Is announced by Baldwin himself
that Great Britain henceforth shall
have fiftytwo squadrons and the
whole empire eighty-two. Though he
fastened to add that the question
ought to be regulated by an inter-
national conference, like that Of
Washington which settled the naval
strength. nevertheless, so far as the
mediate future is concerned, Brit
ain will launch a tremendous air pro-
gram with Frances aerial strength
as the excuse.
Justffes French Army Policy.
If France maintains airp1anes and
armies today, it is because she stands
alone with Belgium against Ger
many which has revolted against
peace treaties. Is inf7amed with re-
venge and already Is stronger numer-
ically than her neighbors. These
British ministers who affect alarm at
Frances military precautions are
singularly unjust, for they should
know France is obliged to take pre-
cautions because of the non-execu-
tion. of the treaties. The Anglo.
American policy is the cause of
Frances isolation, and this Isolation
IS the cause of her armaments and
the prolongation of her Rhineland oc-
cupation..
That's not all, either. for unmis-
taxable new threats are coming from
Germany. That country never exc
cuted the disarmament clauses of the
Versailles treaty, even under the dis
armament commission, and that body
has not operated since January.
Much war material can be manufac-
not failed to take advantage of this
fact. Aviation especially has been
Systematically developed by the con-
struction of the so-called commercial
planes which can be transformed into
war planes in q few hours.
Baldwin's speech, or in any of the
others. That's what puts the serious
aspect on the Anglo French relations.
One might think when reading these
speeches we were not on the morrow
OF a common war, but on that of
public on both sides of the Channel
follow the discussion with inert in
difference.
World aLike Operating ROOM,
A French, novelist wrote yesterday:
THE world seems Like O. vast operat-
ing room where patients are put. to
sleep. by mysterious anesthetics- and
await unconscious some ;monstrous
surgical operation"
This Is only too true. Outside of
the little entente nations, which are
making constant progress through
united effort, a kind of apathetic in
dividualism reigns throughout Eu-
rope. The Belgian cabinet crises, SO
hard to solve, shows how sluggish
are the organs of internal life In even
an active country. Present French
policy, instead Of developing in all
fields where her interests lie, con.
cehtrates on the Ruhr and marks
time everywhere else. And now Eng.
land is going to spend her money to
have more planes than France, yes
terday's ally. Truly it's dishearten-
ing.
Everybody is talking about a dea.
mite settlement. but they seem to
ignore the fact that before ANYTHING
Is possible there must be a certain
confidence in one another. That's how
Edward VII and Delcasse began in
1904 when they founded that policy
which later had such splendid results.
Can you imagine France and England
agreeing on reparations policy while
engaged In a gigantic armament
racees
If we want to work together, we
cannot simultaneously threaten each
other!
tcopy;:sht, 1921