Evening star., 1923-02-22
Plan to Unite Belgium and
Italy to Oppose Anglo
Americans Gains Form.
RUSS0.GERMANS TARGET
OF VAST MILITARY PACT
150,000,000 People Would Be In.
cluded in Gigantic Scheme to
Protect Continent.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.

Bf PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.
BY Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News
Copyright. 1923.
PARIS. February ga movement
already foreshadowed. toward the
formation under French leadership
OF a continental bloc as a defense, on
the one hand, against the Russo
German military menace and. on the
other hand, against what is regarded
here as threatened Anglo
financial menace, is beginning to take
definite form.
Sees Double Danger.
Prof. Jacques Bardaux, a personal
friend of Premier Poincare and one
of the best known writer's on inter
national affairs, says in Weekly Opin-
fon:
Belgium and France with the little
entente and if possible Italy, must
define a common policy before the
double danger which threatens them
equally. namely, Russo German CO.
operation and Anglo-American Co
operation. OF these dangers the ie
near: one is military and the other
Is financial. Neither can be parried
save by the intimate, complete public
and precise agreement of these states
the chart of whose freedom is the
treaty of Versailles"
Scents Definite Break.
In LOeuvre Senator Robert de Jou-
yenel declares:
However deep our desire to find
thought with the British nation and
people every day that has passed in
the last four years has rendered more
evident the impossibility of making
Europe's future dependent on Great
Britain's will
Prof Bardaux is a conservative. but
de Jouvenel is a liberal. Both the
great political groups in France are
therefore now tending in the same dit
rection. Great Britain's traditional
says de Jouvenel 1t looks with sus-
picion on the continent, and so Child
ish" is this suspicion that 1t even
refuses to allow the construction of a
railway tunnel under the English
channel. The increasing influence of
the British dominions is said to have
strengthened the British tendency to
regard itself as apart from Europe.
Entente Immediate Program.
De Jouveners Immediate program
il Franco-Italian entente, rendered
possible, he believes, by the advent
of the Mussolini government. France
and Italy, he argues, have a common
interest in making the reparations
settlement depend on the debt settle
ment Italy needs French iron and
the two countries both need coal and
coke and should formulate a common
policy not only as to these COM
bustibles. but also as to oil. They
should also make a naval agreement
to control the Mediterranean between
them, else the control is likely to
pass to Great Britain. France, on it's
part, needs Italian labor.
Military Pact Is Aim.
NJ. De Jouvenel's ultimate aim, how
ever. is a French h-Italian-Belgian mill
tary pact which would thus include.
roughly, 15O,OOO.0OO people. Grouped
around the Mediterranean and rein
forced by the little entente, it would
render almost negligible the contin-
uaI Russo-German menace against
European peace, whatever Great Bri-
tain's attitude might be.
When the war ended France based
its foreign policy almost wholly on
an alliance with Great Britain and
the United States. keeping in the
background, however, as a possible
alternative. the so-called continental
system. The withdrawal of the United
States from European affairs, accent
uated now by Great Britain's barely
concealed hostility to the French
the French regard not only as equit-
able and legitimate, but vital to the
very existence Of France, has forced
this country virtually to abandon its
idea of an alliance with English
speaking countries and fall back at
least temporarily on the continental
system, the more so as Great Britain
has begun to threaten France with
an Anglo american understanding to
bring pressure against the Ruhr oc-
cupation and for the payment OF the
continental war debt.
Hangs on u. 8. Policies.
1t is evident that the political de-
velopment in Europe for the next few
years depends in a large part upon
the policy adopted by the United
States regarding debts and repara-
tions.
All experienced American observers,
with whom the correspondent has
ldlkcu dTo VI tlo OpiAioH thdl Iic
United States should formulate forth
with a definite American policy In
all world problems touching Ameri-
can issues
The immediate issue seems to be
whether the United States shall har-
monize it's policy with that OF Great
Britain, as Great Britain desires,
thereby provoking the hostility Of
certain continental nations or whether
the United States shall endeavor in
defence of its own interests to hold
q Just and equitable independent po-
sition between the European powers
including Great Britain itself.