Evening star., 1932-11-20


tocracy are more firmly In con-
troll of their country than were
Il the Kaiser and his ministers
before the Great War. Indeed
the situation is more alarming than in
the Summer of 1914-for two reasons.
Before the outbreak of the war there
was, in Germany, an elected Reichstag,
which, If not in a position to influence
high politics to any great extent, was
able to criticize. Now the Reichstag
has been reduced to impotence. There
is no pretense of parliamentary or
democratic government.
The second reason is that, whereas
before the war they were prosperous,
with expanding trade and industry and
with no serious grievance, the German
people are now in state OF seething
discomfort. In 1914 the prosperous
German burghers had to be whipped
up into the mood of fighting patriotism,
by much empty talk about her place
| in the sun" and the danger Of "encir-
clement" 1t was the weaker France
that nursed the grievance of her lost
provinc ces-Alsace-Lorraine. This French
grievance, after % years, was largely
sentimental; the great industrial de-
velopment Of Europe had taken place
after the annexation of the two prov
inces by Frances hereditary enemy.
Present German Plight.
Regard the situation of Germany to-
| day. An important part of her territory
| in the East, including Upper Silesia,
with its great iron and steel works and
ccal mines, has been given to Poland.
The Polish Corridor to Danzig sunders
East and West Prussia, the very strong
hold of German Nationalism. She has
been stripped of every one Of her colo
nies. Her armaments have been limited
strictly and are still ineffective to with
stand Polish advance from the east
or French invasion from the west
= German youth, physically incapable of
responsibility for the war Is in des-
perate economic plight and is taught to
! lay the blame upon the treaty of Ver-
sailles, while the older generation
smarts under the accusation Of war
guilt. To injured national and racial
pride are added poverty and unemploy-
ment, with practically the whole of the
middle class ruined by the great inf1a-
ton. This feeling of resentment, nay,
of despair, has been exploited, first by
the Nazis and Communists, and then
by the government of junkers, mobiles
and professional soldiers, supported
and encouraged by the veteran Presi-
dent. These are the facts. We should
face and appraiSe the results.
What effect will the reaction in Ger
many have upon her neighbors and how
will it affect the relations of the United
States to Europe?
Germany intends to pay no more
reparations. Whatever government is
In Berlin, whether dictatorship, yelled
or otherwise, or a democratic govern
ment depending upon elected parties in
| the PaiNhCtaO will ,nt
another pfennig.
France insists on regarding war
reparations and intergovernmental
debts as being in exactly the same
category. France, in her turn, will not
pay.
Bitterness Appears Certain.
Britain Is faced with the alternative
Of repudiating her part of the debt to
the United States or bearing the main
burden. Failing some other settlement
either alternative will be harmful to
Anglo-American relations. Payment,
the present policy, will arouse hostility
in England against the United States.
There is great resentment in Britain
against France in any case. The Eng
hsh blame France for being too hard
on Germany after the Great War. It
Is traditional British policy to be
generous to a beaten foe. After the
war passions had cooled doWn-Which
was far more rapid process in Britain
than in France-the English favored
their traditional policy. But the
French, in seeking after the phantom
security, have insisted on the retention
OF every possible measure that might
be supposed to keep Germany weak. If
France escapes payment, and Britain
I continues vino fn hn T1ffa toRo
especially with the pound sterling of
gold and the debt therefore more oner-
Gus, feeling of the greatest bitterness
will be created between the two former
allies.
Germany has very neatly escaped
from her own embarrassment over repa-
rations. Her next demand has been
for equality Of status in ornaments.
The Junkers and militarists, so long as
they are in the saddle in Germany, in
tend to recreate a nation-in arms. In
order that the taxation for new arma-
ments shall be bearable and borne, the
German governing machine will whip
up hostiltties against France and Po-
land. The more the Germans arm and
drill, the more sullen the people be-
come, the less inclined will France and
Poland be to reduce their own arma-
ments.
The second great possibility, there
fore. is the failure of the World Dis
armament Conference, and the gradual
re-emergence OF Germany ss fully
equipped military power. And an in
direct result of this second important
possibility, which we must recognize,
would be new ornaments race be-
tween Britain and the United States OF
America.
: Death to Peace Pact.
A disunited and distracted Europe
having failed to second the efforts of
the United States to check Japanese
imperialism, most Englishmen or, for
that matter, most other Europeans, an
ticipate a resolute effort by the United
States to outbuild and outclass Japan
in all types of war vessels. The Japan
ese will strain every nerve to keep pace.
Actually, their financial situation viii