Evening star., 1924-07-13


| lister represents the victorious combi-
| nation Of Radicals and Socialists, it
is manifest that he is not to have a
free hand. He cannot dominate as
/ did Clemenceau and he does not rep
| resent an overwhelming and solidly
| united group as did Poincare, at least
during most Of his period as premier
Unable to dictate in the matter OF
president of the republic. president of
the senate or even president of the
army commission, Herriot is placed
in a rather humiliating position.
BRAND May Return.
The underlying fact is, think, that
the present chamber wants BRAND
just as the last wanted Poincare
Millerand, Leygues and BRAND in
turn were tried. Millerand was kick.
ed upstairs into the presidency, Ley
CUES was disposed of easily and
BRAND was thrown out with an enor-
nous explosion before the chamber
settled down TO two years and a halt
of Poincare. It may well be that if
Herriot falls, and his position is be-
coming compromised, there will be
one or two experiments before BRAND
is at last called, but all signs now
point to an eventual BRAND ministry
and to little positive progress until
that moment arrives.
Meantime everything depends upon
Herriot's next visit to England. He
had definitely committed himself to
continuing in occupation of the Ruhr
until Germany makes all the neces-
sary changes of law and transfers of
title incident to the application OF
the Dawes report He has, appar-
emily with success, Joined with Ram
say Macdonald in compelling Ger
many to consent to a new examina-
ton of the state of German military
preparations, interesting because both
Maginot and Gen. Nollett, who is now
minister of war and was until the
other day head Of the allied commits
sion to disarm Germany, have testi-
fed that Germany has violated and
eyaded the disarmament clauses of
the treaty of Versailles. Obviously it
is on the basis of what is now dis
covered that Herriot must construct
any program for the further reduc-
ton of the French standing army.
One must, then, in the following
weeks and perhaps even months,
guard against any extreme optimism,
not perhaps in the matter of ulti-
mate results, but as to current rate
of progress. France has taken a
long step in the direction of meeting
allied and particularly British opin-
ion. She has eliminated the premier,
who in British and some American
ewes was the great obstacle to settle
ment. She has modified her program
of occupation of the Ruhr in such
fashion as to make retirement follow
on the heels not of fultiilment by
Germany, but application OF the sys-
tenn of fulfillment
Main Demands In Force.
But France has not by any means
abandoned any one of her major con-
tentions. She has sent a new man.
a new spirit, to discuss the familiar
questions of reparations, security and
interallied debts, but she still insists
upon the certainty of large payments,
such as the Dawes report foreshad-
ows, and while she accepts the esti-
mates of the Dawes commission, she
consistently demands that steps be
taken to insure delivery; she predi-
Gates all investigation of reduction of
ornaments upon the maintenance of
her own security, and she insists
that since she does consent, under
the Dawes report, to reduce her claim
upon her German debtor, Britain
must take a similar course toward
the French debtor. +
Moreover-an enormously significant
circumse1nce-theF French Chamber of
Deputies has resumed control OF the
foreign relations of France. It has
reserved to itself the function of
passing immediate judgment upon the
action of Herriot in the next London
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