Evening star., 1927-05-22
NEW FRENCH DEFENSES {.
WILL COST MILLIONS.
Plan to Erect Fortifications ON German
Frontier Said to Show Locarno
Pact Limits.

Thus. when the French plans are
realized, the situation will be this:
All the Franco-German frontier will
be covered on the French side by
new system Of works. And. as I have
said, this IS likely TO be the case on
the Belgian side, too. Thus the
French and probably the Belgian
armies will mobilize and concentrate
at the frontier The German armies.
on the other hand, must he modified
and concentrated east Of the Rhine
for any advance.
Coal Basin Near.
Patiently, then, the French. either
with or without the Belgians. will be
able to cross the frontier first. Ard
within sight of the French boundary
is the great Saar coal basin. Saar-
brucken, the chief town, is actually
within range of field guns on the
French side of the new frontier.
Thus. as long as the Versailles treaty
stands, it will lie within the power Of
the French to carry the war into Ger.
man territory at the outset. More
over. the Locarno pact binds Britain
to support France against any such
menace as German fortiication of the
west bank of the Rhine would con-
stitute. a.
What France reckons is then clear.
No one actually supposes that the re-
strictions placed upon Germany by the
Versailles treaty covering the limita
ton Of German military forces will
endure permanently. In fact, most
military men now agree that Ger
many could put in the field far more
than the 100000 allowed her by tho
treaty. France has tacitly resigned
this attempt at limitation by the
agreement of February /. which trans
ferred supervision of German arma.
ments to the League Of Nations. ys
French Position Explained. ~.
On the other hand, the French are
bound to stand firmly against any
German attempt to build forts on the
Rhine or west of it or to maintain
troops in this area. Thus. for the
Germans, the undertaking of a new
war with France would mean in the
first act a French invasion of all the
Rhineland. At best the collision be-
tween the armies would take place on
German soil, and the devastation in
the opening phase. at least. would be
at German expense. This, 10 the
French mind, is in itself an enormous
~ eCA ANAN w any lANW SGL utuu d66IcS"
sion.
Meantime the French program Of
fortif1cations has two immediate as
poets. 1t will be recalled that in
accepting Locarno the Germans at
least assumed that the ratification of
this pact would be followed by an
evacuation of the occupied area, the
larger part of which can under the
Treaty of Versailles be held until
1885. But the French have now ad- -
vanced the argument that such
evacuation can take place only when
the French frontier is adequately
fortified.
Shorter Service Considered.
Again, the French Parliament has
been seriously considering a pro iecte
to reduce the period of service for the !.
conscripts from is months to IL. II
was 36 when the war broke out. This
reduction would automatically cut off
more than 100000 from the standing
army OF France. But now this pro-
posal seems to have been adjourned
until the frontier is fortified Thus
evacuation Of the Rhineland and
limitation of French military strength
seem to have become contingent upon
the proposed defense system.
1t is clear, however that this post
ponement of evacuation will rouse
immediate German protest. Nor is II
less patent that the Germans will
increasingly cry out against any stu
alton in which their territory is omen
to instant invasion. while the French
is covered by strip of neutralized
ground upward of so miles deep and
containing many cities, a great coal
basln and several millions OF German
population.
Military Alliances Recalled.
But this is not all. In addition
france has military alliances with
roland and Czechoslovakia. If
Germany attacked France they would
De bound to come to the aid of France
ana would mobilize at least / 500, 900
at the outset of hostilities. Moreover,
by Inc treaties, Germany is forbidden
70 construct Notifications facing $
roiahd ana none exist on the Czech
sue. any aggressive movement on
the part OF the Germans would, there. -
tore, insure a threefold attack upon q
German territory. And it must be
recalIed that the new Polish frontier
ls oarely a hundred miles from Berlin.
Wnlie the Czech frontier is not much r.
luFtner away and only q few miles :
rom ooth Dresden and Leipzig lust
as the Polish is close to Breslau.
france on her part binds herself to
defend the integrity and safety of both 8!
+ rroland ana Czechoslovakia. but, in -
TACT since these states are both essen -
tliA details in her own defense, She :
Is. IN f"It. protecting herself at the"
Flstula and the upper Elbe, as well as
at the Rhine and the Moselle. Thus
Tour states-Belgium. Poland, Czecho.
slovakla and France-are CLOSELY =
pound by network Of alliances which i,
would bring all in were France at. .
tackled
Population Is $4,000. 900. ~
Collectively. these allied states have
ABOUT S5,000.000 inhabitants, against
less than 65,000,000 for Germany.
Iney would. too, put upward of 8. 900.
200 troops into the line at the comple. i
tlon OF the period of mobilization.
And not only would all the British
resources also be engaged in support
oI tnls coalition were war to come by y
an act of unmistakable aggression on =
the part of Germany against France,
put IT must be noted, too. that, since
ltaly. like Britain. is guarantor of 4
me Locarno pact, she would also be'9ys
bound to support France against a
German attack
In theory. at least. this would seem
20 Dc an impregnable barrier to any -
future German invasion OF France.
indeed. 1t might almost appear that
he strength of the alliances them. -
'elves would preclude any possibility -
II any later German program of at. ~
ack. But. after ali. 1t is highly sig.
lificant that the French, desr:te ali
he guarantees and alliances contained
n treaties. do not feel able to foreao as
he physical fortif1cation of their own 81
rontiers. Here. az least, is a present
eading of the European barometer of
sfs
americans may, too, consider what aH
hair. HaHt.r r.iA iA...,Ai t..