Evening star., 1928-06-10

NV Al
mulate the ways and means
of disarmament. And Paris
I las reached a definite decision in the
matter of new Chinese Wall. which is
/ 70 interpose more substantial barrier
between France and possible invasion.
True, the new Chinese Wall is wall
in name only Actually 1t is to be we'll
nigh invisible. Yet, when 1t is complet-
ed 1t will extend from the Channel TO
the Mediterranean, with only a brief
interruption where French and Swiss
frontiers march.
The Belgians, too, are bestirring
themselves to protect frontiers which
are covered by IOcarno pacts. And the
first Belgian steps are the regrouping
of their troops to provide larger garri-
sons for Liege and the frontier districts
| toward Germany and the reconstruction
! of the forts which were destroyed by
German heavy artillery in the opening
| days of the World War.
The French project marks the third
attempt to provide France with arti-
| fetal buWarks on the open frontiers of
| the east and the far more formidable
natural boundaries between France and
Italy. Vauban constructed the first
system and it protected France until
| the Napoleonic era. Sere de Rivieres
|
of 1870 and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine.
! The new work will cost more than $780,
| 100000 and take years to complete.
Problem Is Immediate.
| For the French and the Belgians the
problem OF defense is immediate, be-
cause allied armies retire out Of the sec
ond sector of the occupied Rhineland in
| 1880 and out of the third in 1885. At
| the same time the fate of the Sarre
| Basin should be settled by plebeScite.
But every one in France and Belgium
knows that the allied armies will quit
| the Rhineland before 1885 and the Sarre
Basin revert TO Germany without a pie
bescite.
Thus. France is again to have dan
gerous frontier in the east. This is par
| TALLY covered by the two German sys-
TENS Of -Thionville and Sarre-
| bourg- -Molsheim. But these forts were
built primarily to guard against a
| French attack and both are less VAL
liable against German invasion and sit
uated long way from the new frontier
The primary purpose Of defenses in
| this region must be to cover the Lor-
raine iron mines, half of which were
| before 1914 on French territory, half on
/ German The loss TO the French Of
4 ttlcH IldlA III Tile llISL QdyS VI tLlt Ndf
/ crippled their defense enormously. Now
France has all of the mines and Ger
man capacity to make war is reduced
correSpondingly. But a German effort
to recover this region would follow close
upon any declaration OF war.
Character Of Defenses.
The new defenses will have the char
acter OF the systems of defense which
became familiar to the world in the
recent war. They will consist not OF a
single wall. but OF systems of defense,
organized in depth. with concrete con-
structions. underground communications
and narrow-gauge railway lines. The
whole plan has been worked out by a
commission headed by Gen. Guillamat.
one Of the defenders Of Verdun. and
the new French budget provides $1,000
600 for the first sectors.
Since Germany. for the time being,
is substantially diSarmed, and nomi-
nally compelled to do without a general
staff and with an army of barely 100. 900
men. French and Belgian dangers are
| slight. Moreover. since the left bank
OF the Rrine has been declared demiIi-
tarized. the Germans could not occupy
1t without violating the Locarno pactS.
Thus the new wall will for the moment.
serve only as a possible jumping of
place for a French offensive But il is
generally agreed that German diSarma-
ment will not exist after evacuation and
that 1t will not be possible to prevent
the Germans from defending their own
territory with Notifications similar 10
the French.
The real problem of the defense of
France becomes dependent upon the
Belgian question. II, before the World
War, the Germans decided that the only
sure road to approach Paris was through
Belgium, the restoration of AlSace-Lor-
rain6 to France has to a great extent
closed all alternative routes Not ONLY
has France acquired the defense Sys-
TENS Of Metz-Thionville and Strasbourg-
MolSheim. which can be reorganized to
constitute barrier doubling the old
| Verdun-Toul, Epinal- -Belfort system.
but possession of the east bank OF the
| Moselle adds one more serious obstacle
to German progress.
Would Again Use Belgium.
Today. to attack France, the Germans
must again come through Belgium. in
deed there Is probably no escape for
them from violating Dutch as well as
Belgian territory, for the province OF
Dutch Limburg extends southwark in
long peninsula and narrows the gan
between Holland and France. The Ger
mans considered crossing this strip of
Dutch territory in 1914, but finally re-
nounced 1t because OF the efficiency OF
the Dutch army. With their eastern an
/ proach narrowed by the loss of AlSace-
Lorraine. they would have little chance