Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-18
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.


THE visit of M. Laval of France
to Washington will be important
or no more than mere
Il courtesy incident precisely as
the discussions resulting from
his visit bring about some program of
financial and economic order in the
world.
Nor can any progress in this direc-
ton be made without the frank recog-
milton that it is impossible to do bust
ness with Germany on any basis what
soever so long as the German people
find themselves bound to pay repara-
tons.
The present German government is
rapidly sinking under the attack Of the
Naticnal-Socialists; the recent election
in Hamburg showed astounding gains
b. the Hitlerites and impressive gains
by the Communists. The Bruening
government is almost at the end Of its
rope. 1t can be saved, if at ALL only
by some decisive action in the matter
of reparations. And that action is i'm
possible without some corresponding
move on the part of the United States.
War Debt Plans Dead.
War debts and reparations are both
dead. The attempt to renew the proc
ess of payments by which the United
States lent money to the Germans, who
paid it to the Allies, who paid it to US,
is not to be renewed. We have So
100000 tied up in frozen credits in
Germany now and the British about
half as much. If Germany goes in for
a Fascist dictatorship, we shall never
get penny back and neither will the
British.
If Germany goes in for Fascist die
tatorship, Europe will see this Winter
the most astonishing burst of arma-
mentS which has taken place since the
war, for France, Poland and Czecho-
Slovakia will feel themselves under i'm
mediate menace. The slightest serious
success on the part of the German
Fascists would put disarmament off the
calendar indefinitely.
M. Laval does not. come to Wash
tngton with free hands. He is pre-
cisely in the situation in which he
found himself when he went to London
at the moment of the German crisis
last Summer: He can make no con-
ceSSion in the matter of ornaments
which is not matched By an American
concession in the matter of guarantees
Naval reduction and a holiday are
quite possible If the United States can
bring Germany to abandon her pocket
battleship construction and Italy to
oSlCC W oCdGuS WHICH WOulQ
leave France on the tWo-poWer stand
ard against italy and Germany, like
that which Great Britain insists upon
in the face of Italy and France, but
not otherwise, unless Mr.. Hoover can
persuade the Senate to accept the sort
Of consultative pact for which Mr.
Stimson and Mr.. Morrow tried to
obtain his approval in the London Con-
ference.
Army Reduction Impossible.
Military reduction Is totally out of
the question in any event. There is
no way of reducing the German army,
now barely adequate for police purposes,
and the French army will be main
tanned at strength to cover French
frontiers against both Germany and
Italy.
Disarmament, limitation of arma-
ment, naval holidays-these are details
of the larger European problem, which
IS f1rSt political and then financial II
the British and American governments,
through their influence at Berlin, can
persuade the Bruening government, in
return for reparations favors, to make
political concessions, and the Bruening
government can survive such commit
ments, then the way is open for useful
international operations. But not other
wise.
The situation in Europe today is
clear. All power, political, military and
financial, is vested in French hands.
The political power rests upon the
series of alliances with all the consider
ably armed states save Italy and Soviet
Russia. The military rests upon the
same basis. The financial is based
upon the fact that all European
countries need cash and only in Paris
is cash available.
1t is combination unrivaled in a
century.
In this situation the French people
are resolved to turn their power into
definite results. They mean to put an
end to the German resistance to the
territorial provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles. They already have forced
both Germany and Austria to renounce
the tariff union. They have forced
Bethlen out of power In Hungary, be-