Evening star., 1923-10-24
SHUTS ASKS NEW
WAR SETTLEMENT
Appeals'for World Conference
to Undo Mischief Wrought
at Versailles.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, October 24.-Premier
Smuts of South Africa called for
conference of the powers to consider
the whole European situation in a
speech last night at dinner at
tended by the South African delega-
tion to the imperial conference. He
attacked France for her policy and
warned England and the United States
against any excessive generosity" in
the remission of interallied war debts
which might aid in further mill
tarization of the continent.
"Of the great number of public
men whose names stand under the
peace treaty." he said, there are only
two or three who still survive in
power today. For better or for worse
| am one of them, and the respon-
sibility for what was done at Parls
spite of the fact that l signed only
under protest and under sense OF
foreboding of future calamitleS Whlcn
has come only too true"
A gallant attempt TO save Europe,
without patching or temporizing. is
necessary, he said, and this can only
be done through conference OF the
powers mainly interested in the
reparation question. The situation is
too desperate to be dealt with by any
subordinate authorities. or even the
reparation commission or the coun-
Gil of the league of nations, he
claimed.
Lack of Moral Justice.
1T is business for the principals.
not agents" he declared. 1T is
States should be there as an active
member and bear her full weight,
which under the circumstances may
be more decisive than that of any
other power. In her distress Europe
is today more than ever turning her
eyes and stretching out her hands
to, her great daughter nation in the
west. The appeal is not so much for
material assistance as for moral sup
port. In this dark hour it is the lack
of moral justice which is Europe's s
undoing.
The peoples of Europe have faith
in America. | share that faith and
that feeling, and l have complete
confidence in Americas readiness to
act at the right time. President
Coolidge has already in his recent
statement taken the initiative. 1t is
being followed up and the new
world may once more come in to re-
dress the balance of the old as it
did six or seven years ago."
Reduction of Reparations.
The principal issue for settlement
by such conference as he suggest
ed would be the reduction of the
total German reparation from the
132,000,000 gold marks fixed in 1921
to reasonable figure, with a reasonable
moratorium..
On the armament question he said:
People here are already beginning
to be seriously alarmed about the
French armamentS on land and in
the air. The French government also
has lent large sums to smaller Eu
ropean states around Germany, main
ly with view to feeding their raven
Gus military appetites. There is dan
ger lest a policy of excessive generosi-
ty on our part or on the part of
America may simply have the effect
of enabling France still more effec-
lively to subsidize and foster mill
tarism on the continent"
SGrry for France.
While he was at total disa agreement
with the French policy, Gen. Smuts
said he felt a profound sympa thy
with the people of France, who sin
cerely thought they were going to
get reparation out of their Ruhr ad-
venture and had no deliberate inten-
tion of breaking up Germany. The
breach of the proposed American