The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-13
NEW PROTEST BY GERMANY ON INVASION
French Occupation of Ruhr Characterized as Purely Arbitrary Action and
 Force" Committed
 Against Cripple.

by French military forces Tn the Ruhr have been made the subject of a renewed protest by the German government.
 The note of protest, copy of which has reached diplomatic quar- ters here, characterized the French occupation as lone of purely arbi- trary action and force, committed by taking advantage of the de- fenselessness of the German na- tion."
 Approval expressed by the Rhine land commission of the measures taken by the French government, the note said, "does not legalize these measures which violate the treaty and likewise does not give a legal title to the illegal ordinance of the Rhineland commission.
 "The approval shows new condition, however" the note con- tinued, "that the interallied Rhine land commission lets itself be made the tool of French policy.
 "The German government pro- tests also against this violation of the treaty and of right"
 Text of Protest
 The text of the note follows:
 The French government in the note dated February 9. and trans mitted to the German embassy Gin Faris) on February 4, reproached the German government of a viola tion of the treaty of Versailles, a violation which was said to have oc- cured by the German administration of railways. having stopped the ser vice of the international trains Paris Bucharest and Paris Munich Prague. The French government at the same time announced that for this alleged violation of the treaty it would occupy as sanction the Ger b weir. The occupation of both towns actually took place on the day the note was handed to the German em- bassy at Paris.
 "The German administration of railways was, on account of short age of coal and other difficulties of transport, caused by the Franco Bel gium invasion of the Ruhr, obliged tN '. n mi pr national and German railway ser vices. Along these were also the trains mentioned in the note. In view of the time and circumstances under which the stoppage of the ser vices of the two trains took place, such stoppage obviously amounted to an emergency measure of transit tory nature, whereby there can be no question of a violation of treaty.
 But even if formally speaking, the treaty had been violated, it would mock of every state of peace, if the French government took occasions of such importance as the suspension of two train services, to send with out further notice it's troops into German towns.
 Charges Purpose Concealed
 "The Trench gove, nmert has in- deed with view to convealing the deed with a view to concealing the cause Of reproach and the French mea sIIres, r. ed to enumerlte further alleged v:oia, ions of The treaty by Germany.
 'In reply to this the German gov ernment refers to it's former ex- change of notes with the French gov e1nment The German government points cut that ia every single case of a reproach made of having vio- lated it's obligations. by detailed ar gument refuted such reproach with out the French government having even tried to refute on it's side the argument put forth by Germany.
 "The French government does not mention a legal title on which it claims to have imposed it's sanctions. In this case, therefore, the French government does not even dispose of visionary grounds for imposing sane tions. In reality, the whole case amounts to one of purely arbitrary action and force, committed by talk ing advantage of the defenseless German nation. The Germans form ally protest against this procedure before the entire world.
 "On the day the French note was handed to the German embassy in Paris the Interallied Rhineland com mission ill Coblenz transmitted note to the German Rhineland commission there in which the commission stated that. approving of the occupation or dered by the French government of Offenburg and Appenweir, it had de- cided to place these territories under the auspices of the bridgehead of Kehl and to extend the powers of it's delegates at Kehl accordingly.
 Cites Agreement
 "The Rhineland convention circum- scribes the material as well as the local scope of the powers of the Rhineland commission. According to Article l of said convention. the ter ritory subject to the competence of the Rhineland commission comprises only those parts of German territory, the occupation of which was provided for by Article of the Armistice of November 22. 1918, and by Articile
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