Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-04
BRAND FEELS OUT
EUROPE UNION IDEA
French Premier Takes Lead
to Form Trade 0rganiza-
ton of All Continent.
BIT PAUL SCOTT MOWER.

By PAUL SCOTT MOWMEH.
- Gable New T. the s,sr aSa Ssseaso Daily
PARIS. August 3.-The return Of
Aristide BRAND to the premiership Of
I France, places at the head of the gov
eminent a statesman whose avowed
ambition is to take the lead in the Gre
alton of United States of Europe.
z M. BRAND has been all his life in
politics. Far from being theorist or,
in q derogatory sense Of the word, an
idealist, he is one of the most practical
politicians alive. For several years he
has been mediating this project, but
the fact that he considers that the
! time is now come was revealed in these
dispatches only few weeks ago.
He was then merely foreign minister.
He Is now premier and in q stronger
position than ever to carry out his
plan. Since last November he has
been Selling every opportunity to
sound out the responsible statesmen
OF Europe as to how they would re-
gard all invitation to attend pan
European congress to study ways and
H1CAuS Vi ldPPAOIiChlCAlV Va
all European countries.
Most Countries Accept.
His dream is that even political
union may some day be formed, but
for the present he recognizes that an
economic union or even special eco
romic arrangement of some sort Is
the most that can be hoped for. So
successful were these personal sound
) inRS that 1t is now possible to an
nounce that he has secured unofhcially
acceptance of all the European coun-
tries except Soviet Russia, which Is
not economically eligible; Great Britain
and Italy. Italy, it is believed, will
finally consent to attend and much
persuasion is being used with the
British Labor government to get 1t at
least t. consent to participate in the
! discussions.
M. Brand himself will represent
France at the Young plan conference
which opens at The Hague, according
To present schedules. next Tuesday.
There he will continue his private con-
versations witt European statesmen re-
garding his pet scheme. Assuming that
the Young p1ah conference succeeds. as
he feels IL certainly must, the way will
then be prepared, he thinks. for form
al declaration by himself in the name OF
France at the League OF Nations as
III
he will state his ideas and osk the
League to approve the project. The
next step would be the pan-Eurcpean
/ conference to be held if possible before
the end of the present year.
NJ. BRAND is far from desiring to i'm
pose on this conference definite pro-
gram. He believes the conference shuuid
make its own program. He considers,
however, that there must be complete
equality of all nations. large or small,
within the proposed entente which, II
successfully organized. might resemble
for the time being the Pan-American
Union.
Honorary President.
This is as far as NJ BRAND goes It
is known. however that he has been
in fairly close relationship with the best
known present-day. exponent Of PAN
Europeanism, Count Richard Couden-
hove Kalergi. whose father was Hun
. garian and his mother. Japanese and
who directs from Vienna an organiZa-
ton called the Pan-European Union of
which he has made M. BRAND honorary
president.
Since M. BRANDS plans for carrying
! the pan American theory into the field
Of practical Statecraft recently were re-
; vealed to the public, there has been a
vigorous discussion pro and con through
! out Europe and Kalergi has been max
! ing numerous statements. writing nu-
r1erous articles. cleaning UP nlisunder-
/ standings, refuting objections and es-
pecially begging the Germanic peoples
to trust M. Brands complete sincerity.
Frenchnen and Germans, he says, have
dreamed for centuries of a united Eu.
rope.
Sully. Rousseau. Napoleon, Victor
Hugo. Leibnitz, Kant, Wieland, Novalis,
Nietzsche, were all Europeans, says
kalergt. What he understands by pam
Europe is a voluntary community of
Independent nations uniting 30o,000,0o0
consumers into one market, in which
no one nation would have hegemony,
either political or economic.
The neuclues, he thinks-and many
agree with him-should be a Franco
German entente, which is, indeed, al
ready begun by the alliance Of the
French and German steel. potash and
chemical industries, and which should
be greatly facilitated politically II the
Young plan conference succeeds. The
Franco-Gernan entente, he reasons,
( would bring In almost automatically
Belgium, Austria, Poland. Czechosio.
I vakia. Rumania and Jugoslavia.
Britain Not Essential.
Britain could join if it liked, but 1t
would not be essential.
Generally speaking, nationalistic par
ties throughout Europe oppose and
mock this plan, while the Liberal and
left parties approve most enthusiastic
cally. Points especially to be adduced
In its favor are that it would give Eu-
rope a greater prosperity, by joining it
into one great protected market like
the United States, that it would pro-
/ mote peace and would enable Europe
to defend itself successfully against the
economic and financial power Of the
United States.
M. BRAND, Kalergi and all other
leaders keep repeating that pan-Europe
would In no sense be directed agrees |
sively against the United States, against |
Russia or against Great Britain, IL
Britain refuses to join: yet certainly
the fear of the United States supposed
policy of shutting others out of its
home market while invading theirs. Is
the one big motive Of the promoters.
Theoretically. the world is moving
toward a situation in which there
would be three chief economic entities. |
the United States Of America. the
British Empire and the United States |
of Europe. From theory. however. to |
realization seems still long way. even |
with q practical man like M. BRAND
working for It,