Evening star., 1926-03-21


marked. but that American in
terpretations of this famous agree
ment have been far too optimistic and
have tended TO an undue extent to
give II the character of final settle
ment What is impressive at the mo-
ment is the growing difference Of opfn-
ION between Britain and France and
also between France and Germany of
the real Gaming of the pact.
Locarno, as we saw II in the United
States, was contract with very def
mite and precise terms which in giving
France security insured a return to
normal relations between the two
great rivals and enemies. And back
of the contract was that rather mys-
terious thing which one speaks of
everywhere as the spirit of Locarno." :"
This spirit so far as 1t meant any
thing, seemed to imply that every one
was going to approach new world
In a new temper and that all parties
to the contract were prepared to give
II the same Interpretation.
Security Now Doubted.
But now in France there is great
and growing apprehension that 1t will
turn out that France has by the Lo-
carno agreement surrendered her
freedom without obtaining any real
security. Above all there is steadily
increasing restiveness against Britain
because of the interpretations the
British seem to be giving the recent
understa nding,
Pursuant to the Locarno under
standing. Germany Is to be member
of the league. But with what pur
pose is Germany coming into the
league? For the French this Is the
all.important question. Ia she coming
prepared to accept the European sit
uation as it is and share with the
other Locarno members in the con-
solidation of the existing order? Is
she. by contrast, coming resolved to
make her membership in the league
the opportunity for working for
transformation of many IL not all of
the war settlements?
Other Aims Suspected.
Is Germany out for the revision of
the treaty Of Versailles in most IL not
all of it's essential details? Such
revision throws open the whole ques-
ton Of European stability. IL Ger
many is to seek through the league
to obtain the permission to unite with
Austria: if Germany is to demand the
remaking of the eastern frontiers by
the suppression of the Polish Corridor
and the return of Upper SileSia: IL
Germany is, in addition, as the recent
episode in the Upper Adige which pro-
voked Mussolini'S wrath suggests, go
ing to assert the right to speak for
Germa n-speaking minorities all over
Europe. then certainly new and
not calm phase of history is ne
ginning.
The. outstanding incident has been
the debate over the admission Of Po-
land in the council of the league as
a permanent member together with
Germany. The French see perfectly
clearly that for an indefinite period
Polo-German relations are going to be
one of the danger points of Europe,
perhaps the worst. They see that
Germany will raise at Geneva the
question of the Polish Corridor and
variety Of other issues involving Po-
land. They therefore believe that Po-
land should be present always and
they perceive that if Poland is not
permanently represented on the coun-
Gil, ii may devolve upon France
steadily to speak for her ally and thus
to arrive at A position of disacco
with Germany.
British Stand Irritates.
Moreover, the general British de-
nunciation Of the idea Of admitting
French, who find themselves una BILE to
explain the constant hostility of Great
Britain to Poland and the obvious
readiness Of British statesmen to
sacrifice Poland to reconcile Germa ny.
What France fears. for obvious rea
sons. is that the British by supporting
Germany in her present enterprises
and particularly with respect to Po-
land and of Austria. will contribute to
making Germa as strong az she was
before the war. perhaps stronger.
France fears, above all, the creation of
a great German-controlled Mitteleu-
ropa, including not only Austria but
Hungary, and either obliterating or
mastering CZechoslovakia. This great
central block. which would have
close to 100 100000 people, would In
evitably move southwark to the Black
Sea and the Aegean. even to the
Adriatic at Trieste. 1t would he In
every way too powerful to he faced,
even by a Franco British combination,
while even the eventual adhesion of
Italy would hardly restore the bal
ance.
New European Phase.
The simple truth is that the en-
trance of Germany into the league
which the French insisted upon at the
moment of Locarno, has suddenly
made manifest the fact that a new
European phase is opening. Musso-
lini's denunciation Of German preten
sions in the Upper Adige and his firm
declaration that Italy would never
consent to German union with Aus
triA is only the Italian reaction to the
same facts.
Moreover, for both France and
italy as well as the states at the
little entente the recent currency
scandals in Hungary have had a pro-
found mea ming, for they represent the
evident effort of the old governing
class to overthrow the existing situa.
tien by restoring a Hapsburg to the
throne and undertaking an effort to
abolish the treaties of peace. And 1t
is the Paris view, at least. that the
Budapest scandals had a Berlin angle
and that certain elements in Germa ny
were in close cooperation with the
conspirators of Hungary.
Germany Greatly Feared.
So far from consolidating peace in
Europe. then. the French are begin
ming to fear that Locarno supplied
the basis for new dislocations. The
nightmare before all French eyes is
the rise of a new and still more ag-
gressive Germany, become more
powerful even than Germany Of 1914.
The British view that the rise Of such
a Germany is inevitable and that it
need not concern the French now that
they have a German guarantee OF
French integrity. backed by a British
promise. does not satisfy the French.
for the simple rea son that they do not
believe even the Britise guarantee
would be adequate to restrain Ger
many once the Teutonic state had
risen to the proportions which the