Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-08
Peace ON the Rhine

, the humber classes William II once
| called In his vociferations, "a traitor.
Gus rabble," fellows without father
land" Now they felt that they had a
fatherland! The first President of the
Reich, Ebert had come out Of their
ranks And they defended Germany's
honor as many men In Berlin had not
dared to hope.
Let us now rapidly examine the real
state of minds on the other side of the
Rhine, In France.
| think may surely say, as conse-
quence of long official and non official
residence In France. that If the deep
pacifism OF the French people is some
| times questioned and doubted II is only
because Of the brilliant cerebral but on
the w1ole--wit1 some noble exceptions
Artificial, organization that is the
Paris daily press.
French Stand Due to Fear.
Even n, 1919 1920 and 1921. when
France was organizing military expedi-
tions everywhere, the mass OF the
French people was only DESTROYS OF a
true and lasting peace. In no place in
the world was the cry ITO war;" so
deeply felt as among the French peas
ants, who never read a French newspa-
per, and who. on the polling day. are
the real masters of France. Through
out those years from the armistice to
the settlement of the Dawes plan and
the eve of Locarno the French greatly
resented the one word which was flung
ut them from every quarter Of the
militarism
But even at that time the French as
whole were not militaristic. All the
warlike enterprises which in that pc
Rod seemed unquestionable proofs OF an
aggressive French militarism were in
reality only impulses of self-defense
exasperated by the foreboding that the
entente was to die. and by the fear
terrible for such thrifty nation AS the
French--that the Germans would eS-
cape the burden of the reparations.
All Changes In France.
With the German acceptance of the
Dawes plan all was changed at once in
France. Schemes OF aggressive policy
toward Germany became unpopular
even the French alliance with Poland
took A milder form. A general tendency
to A policy of collaboration Is now evil
dent, even though the leaders are still
too timid to reconsider off1cially the
only existing political question---the
military occupation of the Rhineland
permitted until 1880 by the treaty OF
Versailles.
Not only symptoms Of collaboration
but recent facts can be quoted.
Only few months ago-before the
victory Of democracy at the recent cleo
tons In Germany--a commercial treaty
was concluded which offers a basis for
The multiplication of the exchanges.
Beside this economical collaboration
financial collaboration is beginning. The
| do Efyas VSd 4
have agreed to offer their combined
credit to the Polish currency. the French
eliminating In this way field Of sus-
picion Now the French and German
delegates have co-operated cordially In
most Of the thorny questions submitted
TO the last council Of the League.
Political Signs Hopeful.
Every sign seems hopeful In the po-
litical field.
But If optimism Is necessary in politi-
cal life. the optimism A Ia pangloss tthe
immortal type created by Voltaire)
might become rather dangerous with its
blindness For my part. / can't help
feeling some possibility of potential truth
in a remark / heard few days ago
from diplomat who had just returned
from the June Geneva council: How
we'll everything went on between the
French and German governments! If
IL, behind the two cabinets there were
not the two peoples!"
The immense majority of the two
peoples sincerely want peace. Where,
in some possible developments OF events
and situations, certain amount of fric-
ton may be feared is In the deep In
teliectual difference between the two
nationalities
The French are as logical. as clear In
| their political views as they are in their
literature. They are probably the one
people In the world who are most
unanimously attached to what should
| like to call the juridical illusion. Be-
cause a text has been signed. because a
thesis seems juridically sound. every
thing seems to have been said for the
| Frenchr1afl.
The dynamic nature of the German
| soul is, with her excuses. quite the con
trary Of the rigidly measured French
emotions.
Mistakes on Both Sides.
| Many mistakes come. on both sides
from that fact--many more than from,
antithetical mentions The fact Is that
| il Is easier for Frenchmen and Germans
| to love each other than 10 really under
stand each other.
But even for that, in my opinion, thu
remedy Is at hand. The remedy will bt
given BY what seems to me a forth
coming transposition of feelings and in
terests among the different nations. The
nationalistic hatreds have gone beyond
the limits of any single country: the
hates OF tonorrow--since 1t seems that
| we cannot do without hates--will be OF
democracy against relationships, oil
free thought against theocracy. of COM
munisrn against capitalistic regimes etc
We are much nearer than we think to
the moment when violent struggle be-
tween Germans and French will be In.
| conceivable only because they will be
| busy, on both sides with heavier OF
more violent preoccupatlons.
| My readers see that the future con-
ceived In this way Is far from being
tainted with optimism a la Pangloss II
only amounts to saying that bigger
antithesis OF interests will rapidly
supersede our old hates
| 1t is perhaps gloomy outlook but
nothing would be Ineaner than not IN
| face Loyalty what seems to us the truth