Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-16
berlin AND VIENNA
. BALK UNION FOES
Conclusion About Reached
Hague Court Must Solve
Customs Dispute.
BY EDGAR ANsEL MowRER.


BygCahle to The Star,
GENEVA, Switzerland May 49,
After IA hours of concentric assault,
the Austrians, backed by the smiling
Germans, are still holding out against
all efforts to bully. persuade or buy
them into yielding on the customs union
plan. Their adversaries are beginning
to ask If their task is as easy as they
thought.
In memoranda presented by the
French government to its associated
states it was promised definitely that
the French would prevent the customs
union by all possible means. The
appeal to the League OF Nations Council
is only the first of such means. Every
one now has about reached the con-
clllsion that turning the case over to
The Hague Court is the only possible
next step. This may even occur Mon
day at the first meeting of the council.
Meanwhile the British seem happy
that the Germans have consented to
allow the customs union to go before
the League committee. This, however,
the Germans explain, does not mean the
Austro-G German customs union, but a
customs union as one Of the ways OF
ing the time the court Is celebrating
they intend to go ahead and make all
the, needed preparations with the
AustrianS.
Asked what they will do If the court
decides that Austria cannot legally enter
into customs union, the two Teutonlc
delegations answer, I'VE shall realize q
customs union in another form which
cannot be called illegal"
Seek to Buy OF AustrianS.
Asked, however, what they intend to
do if The Hague Court declares that the
customs union Is legal, the French, and
stau more the CZechs look at one with
MISUNDERSTANDING eyes, since they have
been so thoroughly persuaded that it Is
illegal they have forgotten that the Ger
mans, before announcing 1t. submitted
their plan to world-famed Jurists, who
saw no illegality in it.
Both the French and the CZechS
realize that they cannot very well
mobilize their armies to prevent any
thing which the court had declared
legal, since that would constitute an
INFRINGEMENT of the League Covenant,
treaties and would automatically bring
Great Britain in on Germany's side.
Therefore they are redoubling their
financial efforts to buy OF the Austrians.
Unfortunately for their hopes, the
bank for international settlements has
already offered to the Austrians to take
over lis, 200, 900 schillings (about $16.-
100 000) of short-term treasury bonds
which the Austrian government desires
to float to reimburse itself for the
money it spent in saving the Kredit-
Anstalt Bank and needs only the con-
sent of the Control Commission to this
operation. Attempts to make this OPP
Grafton contingent on remuneration OF
the customs union will shatter British
opposition.
Offer RidicuIed BY Germans.
A deliberate French offer to place
orders for an immense sum In Ger
many, If the customs union is aban-
doned, was simply ridiculed by the Ger
mans, for the opponents of the plan
are not united.
czech Foreign Minister Eduard Benes
does not even accept the scheme OF
French Foreign Minister Aristide BRAND
and wants preference tariffs for agreTtan
states, including CZechoslovaiia, but re-
fuses to give any compensation to the
industrial states asked TO consume his
grain.
The Poles do not really oppose the
customs union at all.
The italians really hate the idea, but
wish the French to buy their assistance
by granting them naval parity.
If Great Britain and Italy stood by
France and opposed customs unity, they
might buy or intinidate the Austrians,
a well known statesman told me yes
terday. Since they won't, the cast
must go to court. God knows what
will happen afterward, but We shall
have gained three precious months"
(Copyright, 1sSl0