Evening star., 1931-05-17
Brands Defeat Figures
AT the Geneva Conference
BY A. G. GARDINER.

LONDON. May 16.-Critical meetings
opened in Geneva this week Under dis
quieting ornens. Reference "a not made
70 the raging crusade inaugurated In
the Beaverbrook press In favor of Eng
land dessrting the League OF Nations
and founding new empire bloc in al
lance with the United states.
The keynote of Lord Beaverbrooks
attack Is that France has become the
dictator Of the league and is using it to
consolidate French military iegenaony
OF the Continent, while England has
lost her Independence and becomes In
vowed In every trouble that French
policy makes inevitable. Hence his plea
70 quit the League, leave the Continent
to stew In its own juice, and turn to
the British doniinions and TO America
for q new balance or power against Eu-
rope. This folly Ii universally derided
as the counsel Of panic and, happily, Is
as 1mpfacttcable as It would be fatal to
the peace Of the world.
4 q
But 1t Is impossible nevertheless to
deny that the outlook for the League
is omingus and that Aristide Brands
oefeat in the contest for the French
presidency adds seriously to the difficul-
ties OF the Geneva conferences. The
election was dominated by the question
Of foreign policy, BRAND being labeled
the man Of peace and his victorious op-
ponent, Paul Dotfner, being elected As
man OF war The fact cannot fail tn
prejudice the position Of BRAND at
Geneva and place him in the light of a
person whose comparatively reasonable
attitude has been rejected by the coun-
try he represents. In these circum-
thur Henderson, as an honest broker
has q most difficult role to play at
Geneva. 1t was his action that led to
the submission Of the proposed Austro-
German Customs Union to the League
Council and upon him mainly falls the
responsibility Of navigating the most
dangerous rapids yet encountered by
the League.
BRAND, who is at bottom rood En-
ropeat1, knows 1t Is impossible to meet
the Atlstfo- German scheme for an eco
noEnic union with q blank f1eRative.
Such, a course, If adopted, would put
the League In the position of taller of
Germany, acting under French dicta-
ton, and would make the existence Of
the German government impossible,
with consequences Of incalculable men
ace to Europe.
The n-possumus attitude of France
is all the more uftenable In view of the
fact that countries like italy and Hun
gary have indicated their readiness
70 make similar arrangements with Aus
trta and that the Austro-G German
scheme contemplates the inclusion Of
other countries in a commercial union,
In his perplexity between the fren-
zied hostility of France to the scheme
ana the tmpossibility of Offering an un-
qualified negative, BRAND has sought to
submerge the Austro- German move by
his own plan for European economic
union. In this he has been supported
by Foreign Minister Befles of CRecho-
Slovakia, who agrees that simple de-
r1uif1ciation of the Austro-G German
scheme does not meet the case and that
an alternative and more effective policy
for the economic reconstruction Of Eu-
rope Is necessary.
Brands defeat for the presidency
weakens his hand and Henderson's task
in securing an accommodation between
the legitimate demands OF Germany and
the resistance Of france Is proportion
ately more difflcult But no doubt is
felt here that he viii be equal to the
occasion and that he will speak the
mind OF this country firmly and tri-
becoming increasingly impatient with
the inifflovable obdtfacy of France in
the face Of every movement for the
pacification of Europe. The current
Weekend Review In an outspokeR -Ar-
ticle says:
''Wlat has happened this Spring
has made It hard FOR any one lonkef
to dispute that the real obstacle to Ea-
ropeafi disarmament is France. France
Is o great country and we believe q sim
kKvA Han&. II
maintaining peace are so rincumproriais-
ingly wrohg-headed that peace cannot
co-exist with them. If we are to have
disarmament, France has got to be
either persuaded or ccerced."
(Copyrisht. is31)