Evening star., 1926-09-05
3.ERMANY'S LEAGUE.
ENTRY IS HAILED
-Marks Good End to Process
!: That Began Badly,
Harden Declares. 5
BY MAMMALIAN HARDEN.

:; Hadfo Dispatch to The star.
BERLIN. September 4.--All's well
at ends we'll. Germany enters the
league of. Nations. The question is,
~ II it be good for her?
VI least the end of the beginning
VAS good. Heavy stones blocked the
?ace temple In Geneva. The Berlin
=. "vernment had concluded a treaty
- friendship and neutrality with the
Folsheviks, in order to show the Da-
cnalists that the nations in the west
I'D not shut Germany off from the
f;sst. And in order to show the ma
'onalists how much could be achieved
"i'hout their participation in govern
rental affairs. the government desired
- secure the return of Eupen. NAL
''edy and Saint With before Germany
became a member of the league.
Plebscite Held Unfair.
The peace treaty gave these dis
t-icts to Belgium. although they had
j.: longed to Prussia for a century, and
lied on those inhabitants who were
satisfied with the change to reg
ter written protests Although
Ihree-quaI'ters Of the 10000 inhab
i'ants speak German. only 460 pro-
i"~ted. But Belgian troops then were
~ the district. the protests had 70 he
ne were not enticinc. Hence the
Jesuit of the plebiscite cast little light
rn the attitude of the people.
The League of Nations, however,
,fecided that the districts henceforth
belonged TO Belgium, and in the first
.'rticle of the Locarno pact Belgium
I'D Germany guaranteed to each
= her the territorial status quo and
availability of the boundaries estab
'iShed By the Versailles treaty.
Nevertheless. Germany has thrice
crdeavbred since then to regain the
districts through revalorizing billions
r. German currency held III Belgium.
This was a threefold mistake
Germany ought not to have exposed
.'e"self to the suspicion of desiring to
weaken the Locarno pacts.
Sees Others Frightened.
All the signatory powers, or at
'-ast the principal powers. would have
I'd to consent to any territorial
change and a precedent of this kind
would have frightened France. Italy
,nd all other countries that received
';ernlan or Austrian territory.
Belgium too, could not have
2voided even the appearance of such
= sale of territory. Minister'S Hy-
'dIS anu fdIuelNelue, WHO fldu
difficulty in Paris in 1919 in con-
victing President Wilson of the
necessity of the annexations. now
a"e members of Jasper cabinet, which
for this reason alone, was obliged to
reject the German offer.
But after Germany has been in
the league while. and after the
Industries of Belgium. Germany,
france and Luxembourg have been
allied through the coal pool, then in
q purified atmosphere, no Brussels
government could be so unwise as TO
retain the small border districts
against the will Of their inha bitants.
The urge to reconcile the German
nationalists. opponents of the league,
Furthermore. was responsible for
another mistake: The fact that Ger
many attached the condition to join
ing the league that no other power
should have a. permanent seat in
the council before Germany. What
has been the result?
Sees League Weakened.
A crisis weakening the league and
BraZirs withdrawal; postponement
of the Locarno pacts and an indus
trial coalition; a tangled knot Of
regional separate treaties.
The council appointed a study
commission of experts to rush about
the continent and six months later
Geneva announces the compromise
birth of a thing that has been called
ironically "half-permanent seat"
And it is obvious that in the last
analysis what has been done now is
what was forbidden last March as
into!erable.
Six months have been lost; the
big prohems of disarmament. occu-
alton AMI tariff union are no nearer
settlemelS than they We're last
March.
But Germany joins. That ends
well. Ala well.
fCopyright. 1926