Evening star., 1932-01-31
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.
Asst week I discussed the history
of the four great conferences ar
which the United States has
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Asst week I discussed the history
of the four great conferences ar
which the United States has
IL been represented in the post
war era. those of Paris, Washing
ton Geneva and London. In the pres
ent article I shall deal with French
policy as it has disclosed itself in these
meetings and as it is certain to dis
close itself in the forthcoming meeting
at Geneva.
At Paris Clemenceau substantially
put upon Wilson and Lloyd George the
necessity to choose between the per-
manent occupation by France Of the
left bank of the Rhine and the beStoW-
al upon France of q treaty Of guarantee
Here clearly was disclosed the French
insiStence upon security. France told
the AnglO-S3XOn nations. both Of which
were anxious to see Germany recover
that the very survival Of the German
nation must be conditioned upon an
AnglO-SaXon assurance to France that
such survival should not involve the
security Of the French people.
Wilson and Lloyd George agreed
perf0rce But the tripartite treaty
fell in the United States Senate. and
since British guarantee was conditional
upon American, France although she
had meantime resigned her purpose to
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left without the security Clemenceau
had bargained for. AS a consequence,
France was thrown back upon herself.
But she still had certain resources. The
American Army had gone home, the
British had demObilized, thus the
French army in Europe was supreme.
In addition. impossible terms had been
imposed upon Germany with British
and American approval. and France
was in the position to employ her su-
preme army to punish inevitable Ger
man failure.
France in Control.
The Ang,o-SaXOn nations had not
guaranteed French security. but, on the
the other hand. they had. in effect
turned helpless Germany over to
France. When Millerand succeeded
ClCmenCeau he proceeded to begin the
construction of a system of alliances
between France and the several sue
CcSSiOn states, Poland. CzeChoSlOvakia,
Jugoslayia and Rumania, which amount
ed to gathering in one solid group an
overwhelming military power.
Three of these nations, Poland and
CzeChOslOvakia, as well as France, were
Immediately concerned in preventing
Germany from undertaking any effor.
to revise the treaty of Versailles and
recover her former military power and
regain her lost provinces. JugoSlaVia
waS bound to France by her similar
clashes with Italy, become a rival of
the French. Rumanian fear of Soviet
Russia bound her to Poland, while
French financial resources were essen
tial TO all these states.
In the course of the next 10 years
after the Paris Peace Conference
France had thus constructed a military
system which dominated the continent.
Moreover, in the same time France
h5d emerged from the financial diff
CultieS Of the first postwar years and
now was as strong on the money as
the military side. She was equally
able to mobilize armies and gold re-
serves TO enforce her policy
Meantime, French policy remained
unchanged The French were still not
unwilling to permit German recovery,
but always such recovery must, in their
eyes be conditioned on a German
promise to live under the system Gre
ated by the Paris Peace Conference,
and also upon an Anglo-SaXOn guar
antee Of France and her allies against
the consequences of German recovery.
Washington and London had to go
bail for German good behavior; that
was and remains the French thesis.
Germany Blocked.
Postwar history, therefore, in its
larger aspect. is Comprehended in this
struggle between the Anglo-SaXOn ma
tiOns on the one hand and France and
her allies on the other. 1t has had
two dramatic crises. The first was
marked by the occupation of the Ruhr,
which broke the initial attempt of
the Germans to escape from the terms
of the Paris peace treaties, and the
second by the battle of AnschluSS,
which took place last Summer and was
opened by the German attempt to
effect a tariff union with Austria,
step that in French eyes represented
tre destruction Of the peace treaties.
France has won both these struggles,
and as the first was very disastrous
for Germany, the second was costly
beyond estimate for Britain and Amer
lea, which had invested huge sums in
the Reich But France has not yet
obtained any AnglO-SaXon guarantee
for her security, nor has she Wrung
from the Germans any agreement to
accept as immutable the territorial
and military clauses Of the peace
treaties.
AS a consequence. France comes to
the new Geneva Conference, as she
has come to all previous international
meetings. resolved not to abandon any
portion of her present position, save
in return for new guarantees. Not
only Laval and his associates actually
in power. but Herriot and BonCour,
sreaknp for the radical and Socialist