Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-14

TEW international meetings since
l. the Peace Conference and none
in the brief history of the Ger
i man republic have been more
| important than the week end
at Chequers last Sunday, the results OF
which, although already the basis for
worldwide speculation, are certain To
become known olaly slowly.
Today the situation is very much like
that at the moment of the London con-
ference in 1924, which made the Dawes
plan, liquidated the occupation of the
| Ruhr and fortified the German cur
rency, just established after the fright
full CONFUSION of the inflated period
Now, as then, the situation of the Ger
man republic Is critical in the extreme,
| and once more the fate of a German
cabinet and chancellor depends pri-
marily upon the support they can OBJ
tain abroad.
Hitler Power Shown.
II any one believed that the menace
Of the Hitlerites, the "Nazis" of the
German political parlance, had dinin-
ished, the recent elections in Gutenberg
| disclosed the contrary. To their vast
gains of September, 1880, the groups
which are seeking to overthrow the
republic and establish a dictatorship
added still further significant progress
Moreover, a few Gays later the perform
ance Of the Steel Helmets. the aSsocia-
ton of veterans: and Nationalist, al
most within sight of the Polish frontier
at Breslau, disclosed still another aspect
of the domestic sit ,ation.
In Bruening the German republic has
strong and reasonable chancellor. In
the face of the rising Storm of chauvir1-
SzAE Il. ls=A~
| Bruening, with the support of the
President of the republio has disclosed
! courage, even daring. Si11se and even
before the Reichstag adjourned he has
ruled as a dict$tor. although techni-
cally having lived within the Law. The
drastic legislation which has been ap-
piled, both to check domestic disorder
and to bring aEout financial stability,
has been imposed by decree law.
Bruening Nears Crisis.
But manifestly. Bruening is very near
the end of his teSher. He can last until
| the Autumn, when the Reichstag reas-
sembles, but uriless his international
situation has improved and the domes-
| tic conditions arc better he must either
fall outright or turn to the 'Nazis" and
the Nationalist for support. Moreover.
even his present. situation is weakened
| by the ever-increasing restiveness of the
Social Democrats. without whose votes
he could not last, but to whose rank
and file the support of an economically
| conservative government Is becoming
increasingly unpleasant.
Bruening must have either gain in
| prestige abroad pr an improvement OF
the economic and financial condition at
home. The bid for prestige in foreign
| a<F Vol be- rao in ~
/ the proposal for tine tariff union between
| Austria and Germany, and It has led
not to a triumph but to a check. The
immediate result of this proposal was
the defeat of BRAND for President OF
France, his resignation, subsequently
withdrawn. and the panicky rush Of the
British Labor cabinet to support the
French foreign minister at Geneva in
the hope of saving him
At Geneva Germany found herself
more isolated than ever. The whole
Ansci1luSs proposition was referred to
the World Court, and even II this court
should find juriSical warrant for the
German enterprise (which is unlikely in
the extreme) there remains the GER
| tainty of a fight over the political as
pects-a fight foIeshadowed by the mo-
! tice given by France, Czechoslovakia
and Poland in the League Council.
French Grow Nervous.
Nor should it be questioned that French
opinion is becoming increasingly ner-
vous about German conditions and con-
comitantly deterSnined to oppose any
project for the revision of either the
| territorial or military clauses of the
| treaty of Versailles. Such perform
! ances as the threats addressed to Po-
| land at Breslau, reinforcing the sus-
| picion aroused By the AnSchlusS Incl
| dent, must harden the will of the
| French people ageinst any concession.
Bruening is, then, face to face with
| the fact that political success abroad is
cut of the question. There remains the
financial issue. He has just imposed
upon the German people the last in
the long series of; measures designed tc
balance the budget and to restrict the
economic situation. It is perfectly pat
! ent that this is no more than the f1nal
step In the direction of demanding a
moratorium in rerarations payments.
| Probably the German people cannot
certainly they Will not-continue pay
ments on the scS.e of the Young plan
in their present plight. If, however
the government demands moratorium
or an investigation by the proper inter-
national committee OF the ability To
pay, the result ynay be the disclosure
not merely of inability to pay repara-
lions but Of the critical situation OF
their whole financial and economic
| structure. And this would be poor
platform on which to launch appeals
for international Iong-term loans, which
are one of the prerequisites to German
Industrial prosperity.
Excursion; Embarrassing.
For the Labor government this ex-
cursion of the Germans to London was
at once a necessity and an embarrassing
adventure-neces$ary because the col
lapse of the GerTnan republic would be
a European disa$ter, disagreeable alike
to labor in the heme situation and pro-
foundly unfortunate for British inter-
estS in Europe But at the same time
any considerable SHOW of sympathy for
Bruening would react against BRAND,
still Enthusiastically compromised at home.
and bring about his disappearance from
the French foreign office. In a word, 1t
was clear from the start that MacDon-
aid and Henderson in their endeavor
to save the BrueHing cabinet might ruin
BRAND, or in their anxiety for BRAND s
continuance might destroy Bruening.
And even after The event the outcome
remains in doubt.
Again. the British situation was far
from attractive. ] II Germany procured
any form of moratorium in reparations
payments, France and italy would fol-
low suit, as Is sheir right, postponing
their payments to Britain and the
United states SIS Germany postponed
hers to them, In this situation Britain