The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1923-07-12
All Europe
Fears Split
inCer1llany
Breakup Would Spell Ruin Of
Civilization, Claimed
Ruhr Conceals French
Designs.
Strain Tells on Leaders
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

Dy 4N4hNh SOlIA<At AN.
Paris. July 1.-THE atmosphere Of
Berlin during the present crisis is one
of shell-shocked helplessness, while
France and Britain pull and haul over
her fate.
Chancellor Cuno's personality, as
compared with his former state, by
those WHO have seen him frequently
Office, Is dropping to one in which
sheer fatigue robs the man of what
ever his normal willpower and de
cisiveness may be.
General Degoutte, it is believed by
those who see him frequently and
regard him favorably, might be able
to handle the Ruhr troubles with
less appearance of progressive rigidity
IL he were not under the handicap OF
a conception of duty which keeps him
at his desk for long hours without
fresh air or exereise-besides which
eshe has the further embarrassment OF
illness in his family.
Poincare Shows Strain.
In Paris, the strain of the situation
is beginning to tell also on Premier
Poincare. emphasizing his natural dis
position to "sit tight" and vastly
magnifying to his mind trifles of pro.
cedure.
These personal equations enter more
largely and more unfortunately in a
situation like this than they would
in America, where great decisions are
equally less personal and individual
power Is limited by our form of gov
ernment.
OF all the important figures in
yolyed, Premier Baldwin, although he
is noticably less sparkling than when
he was Mt Washington last winter
and has developed the physical tricks
OF nervous strain, is nevertheless the
more eauable and sure-footed than
any of the others involved.
In Berlin the fear OF an internal
crisis IL practically universal. That
fear does not look merely to an over
turn of the present government and
the substitution of another. IL that
were the form of the fear Berlin
would be less acutely apprehensive.
SO also would London be less alarmed,
as well as other quarters which take
thought for the future of the world.
But tho anticipated form of the
greatly feared German crisis is the
breakup of the country into several
warning states, some going commun-
list, some Catholic monarchist, some
Sfrotestant nlonarchist and some try
ing TO go democratic.
Breakup Dooms Europe.
Some states in Germany have in
dividuaI. and some times an.agonistic.
characteristics to a degree that We
do not know in America. while the
federal system that holds them to-
gether is much looser than with us.
Why the breakup of Germany into
different states should be so feared
may not be clear to America. Super
ficially. 1t would even seem to have
some advantages. such as permanent
disruption Of Germany's potential
military power. But British states
men, as we'll as many other thought
full quarters, say the breakup of Ger
many means the breakup Of Euro
pean civilization.
British statesmen privately say this
in so many words. and with impress
sive earnestness. Economists and
others on whose advice they depend
say it. If you ask the reasons, they
say that communism and bolshevism
would get n start that would burn
into a blaze; that there would be civil
war among the various states OF Ger
many. that with the breakup, the in
tricate economic unit which industrial
Germany represents. the present
population of central Europe could
not live. but must be reduced by pro-
cesses of war and starvation.
1t is precisely this that the British
are determined to accept the RESPONSE
bility Of preventing. Ever since June
I. the British policy has been to ex-
haust every resource Of patience and
AEpnciliation in order to restore and
maintain the entente with France.
As one British statesman said: "Our
one hope is to preserve the spark OF
life in these negotiations" But the
British have been equally steadily de-
termined to take another course IL II
should become inevitable, and accept
the leadership and responsibility Of
preventing the breakup of Germany.
Real Purpose Concealed.
Regarding France, it is charged
with having the breakup OF Germany
as the main, though concealed, pur-
pose of its present course. Ninety
nine out of every hundred Germans
believe this. Many British believe 1t.
Any impartial examination into
Frances actions six months ago,
when II embarked upon the Ruhr ad.
venture. shows that It's motive then
was a limited, narrow, almost hysterl.
cal determination to get its money
and get 1t at once.
But although that was it's original
purpose, II Is now clear without any
doubt whatever that the development
of the Ruhr adventure is n complete
failure. The net result OF 1t so far as
money goes Is that France will get II
not sooner, but later. il may get
none whatsoever as 1t stands now,
Frances course in the Ruhr basin Is
traglcally increasing the momentum,
not toward collection OF reparations,
but toward the breakup OF Germany,
Frances course in the Ruhr has
come 10 be precisely what the Ger.
man militarists used to call a policy
.s>Jf frightfulness.