Evening star., 1924-03-03


tacks against q France. We have
asked that in The general interests
Of peace the river should form a
barrier against aggression: That
shall Foch on the morrow Of the ar
inistice. Neither the commander-in-
chief of the allied armies nor the
French government of 1919 had for a
single moment the idea of incor-
porating in French territory one
II myself, who was at that time
the president of the republic. clearly
expressed my opinion to President
Wilson and Mr.. Lloyd George In a.
letter dated April %. 1919. In my
opinion. it would have been prudent
to prolong the occupation OF the left
bank of the Rhine until the treaty
had been definitely carried out. L
considered that II was the surest
means Of inducing Germany to OBJ.
tain her freedom: She had. moreover.
herself employed this method after
1871. but even at that time ] was. of
course. as am today, opposed to any
form OF annexation.
Abides by Treaty.
"Whatever the disappointments
which may have been experienced
the existence Of which You are good
enough not TO dispute-France never
sought anything not recognized to be
hers by the treaty. If that treaty had
been carried out she would never
have complained
"On the day of victory she did not
conceive boundless hopes; she did not
count In impossible reimbursements.
She simply hoped she would be paid
what was her due: she simply count
ed on the signatures being honored.
among the errors of appreciation
concerning ourselves. which section
or British public opinion permits. the
one which Is to us most Incompetent
sible and which most saddens US. is
that regarding our military arma-
ments. Are there really Englishmen
VINO suppose that France would be
rations against their country?
Designed for Defense.
our military and aerial establish
ments are exclusively designed to de-
fend us against attempted German
revenge. We have suffered invasion
oiten enough to be compelled to pro-
Niae IN advance against it. If our es
taoiiSnments arc scattered through
out our territory, 1t is because our
aoministrative organizations and our
InoDllizatfon requirements do not al
10" US 10 concentrate them in the
east. But our army and our air force
are no more sign of defiance to Eng
land than the aerial and maritime
meets Of Great Britain are, in your
view, a threat to France
our policy toward the states of
the little entente has always been of
the same peaceful character. Pending
tne grant to us, il IT be possible, Of
more effective guarantees for the
maintenance Of peace, we have been
ANXIOUS to keep in contact with all
nations who are interested in the
loSaI application of the treaties out
OF winch the new constitution Of Eu-
rope has arisen.
Pledges on Loans.
I'm that there is nothing which
can give umbrage to England; for
the last four years, We have never
ceased to proclaim that we should
consider adherence to this group of
II ar'enoshlps as the best guarantee
OF peace. Moreover. in lending to the
allied states OF central Europe the
resources necessary for their defense
we nave done nothing which could
lmpoTerlsh ourselves or prevent US
from paying our own debts. since the
agreed to in exchange for positive
pledges
"On all these points am convinced
straight forward explanations given
openly Will put an end in our re-
spective countries to inaccurate in
terpretations and will destroy preju-
dtces inspired by erroneous or incom-
plete Information.
ITO bring our two public opinions
more surely back to a just apprecia-
tion of things. l think. like you. that
we must rise above the questions of
secondary interest. and. above all,
keep in view the future Of our
countries and the welfare Of human
ity.
Occupation of Ruhv.
we occupied the Ruhr in order to
induce Germany to settle with us and
to conquer the stubborn resistance of
the German Industrial magnateS. This
method of pressure will cease, as we
have announced, on the day that Ger
many pays off her debts. On the other
hand, the occupation Of the Rhineland
will como to an end when the condi-
tions laid down in the treaty have
been fulfilled and our security guar
anteed.
1T will doubtless not be long be-
fore the experts present their reports
The reparation commission and the
allied governments will, in accord
ance with their respective competence.
examine the opinions given by the
committees. We shall then be able.
/ hope, to arrive rapidly at compre-
hensive settlement and to insure that
Germany carries it out.
Il thank you for telling me that
you look upon the question of inter-
allied debts as connected with that of
FepaTdttoHS. II Is iiiilIltely 10 oe ut-
sired that they should be settled at
the same time.
Would Strengthen League.
"The government of the republic,
like the British cabinet, firmly in
tends to strengthen and magnify the
role of the league of nations. If it
had depended only on US the league
would have had from the beginning
THE n