Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-11

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Meanwhile, they know that German
industry is powerful, the German peo-
pie numerous, loyal. capable; German
naval and air developments remark
able the German army reorganized by
a. strange paradox of the Versailles
treaty into a light, swift, strongly
armed, excellently trained force, ideally
adapted for lightning offensive.
Consider Republic Duped.
Against this continual menace, which
they hope is imaginary, but fear Is real,
the French wanted to create an indie
pendent buffer state of the Rhineland
in the peace negotiations, but were dis
suaded by great Britain and the United
States with promise of three-power
guaranty treaty. Neither the United
States nor Great Britain kept the
promise, and the French ever since
have considered themselves duped. They
have been forced back, therefore, on
makeshifts and devices
The first of these is, in place of def
nite triple guaranty treaty, a series of
general pacts, Of which three have now
been realiZed-the covenant of the
League Of Nations, the Locarno treaty
and the Kellogg anti-war pact. But
whereas France Is trying continually to
strengthen these pacts and make them
more definite, the feeling here Is the
United States and to some extent Great
Britain have been trying even harder
to weaken them and make them more
vague.
Any French government which want
ed to leave French security to these
pactS as they now stand would not
last long, for every one remembers
how, when the Russians were at the
gates of Warsaw in 1920, Great Britain,
despite the League, counseled Poland
to surrender, and only France went
to Poland'S aid; how. when France
wanted to strengthen the covenant by
Geneva protocol, Great Britain re-
fused it: how Great Britain, as sig
natory to the Locarno treaty. already
seems FESTIVE, and Italy, the other
guarantor, even more so; finally, how
the Kellogg pact the other day in
Manchuria was spurned with derision
and impunity by he Russians.
France, therefore,, wants stronger pacts
and more Of them. It aspires to take
the lead in peace movement every
Geneva protocol and still hopes for an
Eastern European Locarno and has
even proposed United States OF
Europe. Meanwhile, and failing in
these, 1t is trying to get the Kellogg
pact reinforced by an agreement to
confer and the situation in the Med
iterranean stabilized by q non-aggres-
! sion pact there.
Alliance Series Sought.
The second French makeshift COM
prises a series of alliances with the
Smoller powers, which also are inter-
eSted In stabiliztng 'Europe-namely,
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Jugo-
slavia and Rumania-but as these are
all small countries, no exaggerated ex-
pectations are being based upon them.
The third French makeshift is q di-
rect reapproachment with Germany in
the hope that eventually the interests
Of the two countries will be SO closely
interviewer that a German attack
against France will be out of the ques-
ton.
But will this expedient succeed? Is
Germany sincere? Will it not one day
betray France? Nobody here dares to
prophesy.
So in the end, bitter with the expert
ence of three great invasions, favoring
all kinds of peace pacts but doubling
their efficacy, favoring small allies but
doubling their strength and will, favor
ing rapprochement with Germany but
doubling Germany's sincerity, France
is falling back more and more on a
series Of self-reliance policies.
Next June, II all goes well, the last
French soldier will leave the Rhineland.
The French Army, owing to an anti
militarist trend of opinion, has fallen
to its lowest ebb in the present century.
half of its prewar strength, and is in
capable, according to neutral experts,
of any sort of quick offensive.
OF 100000 men instantly available In
the country to meet an offensive from
Germany's 10000, only six divisions
can be considered offensive units; the
rest would be almost paralyZed pending
mobilization, that is to say, during two
or three weeks.
Act to Meet Situation.
It Is to meet this situation that from
tiers are being fortified in the hope
that these remarkable Notifications will
in the first place discourage German
attack, and secondly, place check upon
it If 1t occurs.
At the same time France is bent ear
nestly upon strengthening its internal
situation and international prestige by
developing its colonial empire, restoring
its finance and rebuilding its navy.
ceeding slowly. due to lack of capital
and Of emigrants of the French race.
Restoration Of finances has been almost
phenomenal. France now possesses the
worlds second largest gold reserve,
amounting to nearly $4,000, 900 900.
AS for the new navy. which the coun-
try desires and is proud of, its purpose
is to defend the colonial empire and
seaborne trafic, guard the costs, insure
the safe transport of troops from the
African colonies to France in case Of
war and also, perhaps as the French
reckon, to regain the respect Of Great
Britain and the United States, which at
the Washington conference seeemd to
consider France almost a negligible
quantity.
Such being the French outlook, it
seems evident that much may depend
at the London conference on the way
France is treated. The French would
undoubtedly listen with interest to any
proposals tending to guarantee peace
and stability and would probably be
willing to sacrifice part of their pres
ent naval building program to obtain
suitable facts along these lines.