Evening star., 1923-07-01
BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN.
AN united political pressl


~ AN united political pressure of
England, Italy and Belgium
yet force modification of the
French policy in regard to
the 'Ruhr and reparations?
Is such a union of nations possible
in view of previous commitments to
France?
and financially sail European seas
without the assistance of other
powers and yet succeed in present
enterprises?
In view &C fhe slowly c-rsta'li~'ne
policies of Frances one-time allies.
all tending toward modification of
abandonment of Frances grip upon
the Rhineland through German pay
mAnt with a1n"natn enaran-a"s. =" e"
aforesaid questions come more and
more to the fore in the deliberations
of, all European cabinets.
Nations Drawing Closer.
That there is a very definite trend
OF Gympathies-which may amalga-
mate into closer unity in all political
endeavor on the continent-between
for granted in view Of events which
have transpired since last January.
Then il was that Poincare. after dis
s"nting from the English viewpoint
"nta gnnistic tn Ruhr eudeavor. in
i+iate6 his policy of forcoful cotlac-
ton and economic expansion within
Germany rroner. England then
Fought Pcincare's effort. italy.
thourh for a rnome1t irving tacit
sanction through tho disnatch of
italian officers to tho Ruhr. has stnca
withdrawn her snrport though at all
times sdn1ittinr that Germany should
ha forced to meet adequate renara-
ticnS navIn antS-Snns which In meas
u~f renav Iosses ranaad bv Germanv's
rnanv war-t'rne pe-fid'es. Belgium dis
patched troops shoulder to shoulder
-,i'h tNo C-ar"h and c'ncr thot time
has Joined in nverv French EFFORT to
hiring t'gher tire screws in crder to
force Germanic compliance with Poin-
ca~- S:~.atas
However Beleium has found that
the enterprise has not Eaid. Rel
efum's norts arc growing more idle
ae r result of the failure of central
Euronean exports. Nanv Of the trade
agrAer,entG with C*r~manv negotiated
Immediately after Versailles have be-
come inncnuons Raloinrn'a firancne In
stead of being AUGMENTED have been
further drained bv excess eyDend.-
lures necessary tOW"Tl maintenance
Of trooDs in the Ruhr. In addition
Belgium faces the necessity Of calling
more troopa to the Colors 10 augment
those whose terms of enlistment soon
expire. Belgium has found the bur-
den 50 great that thosa schools of
politicaI thought in Belgium an
taGoniatiC to the government have
h"nueht increasing pressure to bring
about modification Of the PUN enter
prise in all its features The Theunis
\ Ii,
nremie~ who has been assigned the
task forming n new government
undoubtedly must take cognizance Of
the liberal demands that Belgium pro-
ceed along lines more to'erable in fore
ing Germanic capftula ton.
Hughes Plan Sounds Good.
To Belgian ears the plan OF Sec
-etary Hughes to permit commits
sion of neutral nationals to fix Ge--,
many's ability to pay. coupled with
the demand that Germany be per-
mitted to rise again industrfally
through removal of Ruhr and Rhine
land occupational forces. sounds good.
When Belgium saw Bonar Law in
itiate efforts looking toward a set
tlement Belgium voiced her hope
that there would be success. When
Stanley Baldwin stepped into power
in England with the announced pur-
pose of bringing about n fair but
nevertheless sensible solution of the
whole reparations problem. it was
noticeable how Huichly P"t"ian SEN
timent veered in the direction Of
England. and particularly after Poin-
cares prompt rejection of the next
to last German offer
At the solicitation OF England
Germany made a new (lrer lasO pro-
poSal. which involved annual pay
ments or about s3o0.000.000 until the
rerarations levy has been settled.
Belgium regards this sum as a start
ing point fo~ negotiations, so does
italy and so does England. Only the
French call for complete rejection.
In the meantime Premier Baldwin
has sounded Poincare out on the
question OF holding another allied
supreme council for the purpose of
weighing the whole reparations
question with the view Of united de-
mands on Germany, but demands
more in accordance with Germany's
England would take up the ques-
ton of abandonment of the Ruhr en-
terprise and the question of inter
national sdebts with the view of
reaching some adjustment.
Baldwin Not Encouraged.
Answers from Quai d'Orsay have
not been such as to give Baldwin
much encouragement. While Poin-
care is reported to have been mark
ing time to avoid anything looking
like a deadlock until the complexion