Evening star., 1932-07-17
j. 5. IS WATCHING
! TREND Of ENTENTE
AnuIo. French Domination Of
Europe Would Cause Re-
turn to Isolation.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

While responsible omclaS IN WASH
ington are endeavoring to forget the
"gentlemen'S agreement and conSloef
the controversy aroused by the pact as
ended with President Hoover's letter
to Senator Borah, the Franco BRUSH
understanding is claiming the attention
of all high officials. Efforts are pelns
made to Obtain all possible data on the
"entente" because it is felt that the
contradictory statements issued IN
Paris and in London may hide more
than has been made public: T.
In high official circles it is felt; IN
regard to the foreign debts, that Whlle
The public opinion may be at the pres
e,,t time opposed to any reduction, me
feeling of this country mlght poSStoIy
chanee when the people OF the OniIeo
states will be confronted with an I'M
MEDIATE situation as will occur Delore
Mecen,her IS, when the creditor nations
viii owe the 5Jn UnitHd f1 saeoedance s6aoe n With
the Hoover moratorium OF lasG 81,
Consequently, the watchWord is N, M
sIeening dogs lie and avoid as mucll
as posSible any public discussion on
this irksone subject, especially at tIie
,,raSent moment when there is posi-,
bilitv of it's being made the 1ooI oaA
of political parties. ,,,,, - ovoid
controversial discussions on oepIs s,es a.
the course of this Summer. II Is oiln. l.
cult to say. A number OF mefnpeis %
Congress, not tied to any pol!.ioa'
party. like Senator Henrik Snaps.vau
who is going to discuss the oeUe 49,
ton tomorrow night LOT tne ,o,. Ma'ir this
Radio Forum, are pouilo W A'0p
matter before the public eye.
"Entente" of Greater Import.
THE question of the entente" pc
+ueen Great Britain and France is con-
sidered however, as Of much greateI
ir,nort because of its nebulouS 10TH
and the many denias ana contrauio.
tons which have been expressed Dy llie
i.Dtarested statesmen. Basically, the at
titIde taken bv American high onclaiS
is that if such an understanding WIZ
have as a result an Improvement OF
reIations between the principal european
countries there is so much to be cameo
nv the whole world. II, as result VI VI
the promises made by Great Britain ~
France, the fears of the Frencn peopis
of their neighborS can be aileVlateu' a,lu az
France consequently will be more no,
ereI-minded regarding the political
claims of Germany and Italy, raplo
improvement of the general situation OF
Europe can be expected and the united
states will be among the first countries
to benefit from it.
But if in spite of the repeated denldlS
this understanding between France ana
Britain means that the two countries
are going to work closely together ano
have a common policy which Will result
in the ultimate domineertng OF Europe,
this understanding cannot be welcomed
If there are certain clauses Whlcn nave
not been made public-and the clumsy
secrecy which has shrouded these agree
ments does not preclude sucn pos
sibility-then the consequences OF tne
entente might precipiate an undesirable
situation. If the entente, II Is salu III
responsible quarters, means that Britain
is going to stand bv France and prevent
anv attempt to revise certain clauses OF
the Versailles treaty, then we might
eagerly expect a situation which every
body has been trying to avoid Tor tne
last 10 wears, namely, closer political
cooperation between Russia and Ger
many.
Two Important Results.
As far as this country is concerned
two important results can be expectec
from the Anglo-French understanding
if it means more than French ano
British officials are willing to admit at
the present moment. First OF all Is a
complete chanage in the present set-ur
Of the Arms Reduction Conference
Until very recently, the United states
Government worked under the aSsump-
ton that the chief protagonist OF the
American disarmament ideas in the
League of Nations was the British EN-
pre. With a few exceptions regard
ing certain points in the naval ques-
ton the British sympathized with oul
point of view. The gulf which sepa-
rated France and her followers from
the Americans and their friends was
difference in the philosophy OF dis
armament. The United States and
those who associated themselves win
the American ideas wished reduction
of arms, not only as means OF reduc'
ing the burden of armaments, but as
means to avoid future wars. America
the Scandinavian States and, to GER
tain extent, the British believe that the
postwar treaties and especially the
Kellogg BRAND pact are sufficient guar
antics for peace without excessive ar
maments for each country's national
security. Despite the disillusionment
of the last few months caused by the
Japanese action in the Far East, the
advocates OF the Kellogg pact still
maintin here. as well as at Geneva
that it is an effective instrument FOL
peace and a drastic reduction in arna-
ments would give it more strength.
The philosophy of peace OF TIT
French, their associates and the Japa'
nese is that wars are undesirable, bu
hard to avoid as long as human naturf
is what il is, Consequently, While Ger
tain reduction in the armament eX
penditure is desirable, it would be folly
to dsarm beyond a certain security
point. That security point is basee
on military and naval superiority o.
one power, or one group of powers, ovel
the power or the group OF powers Whlcf
have ideas or ambitions contradlctor1
to the other group. This point O.
view Of the French has been illustrated
in the discussions over Germanyis de
sire to have an army equal to France:
and Italy having naval parity witt
France. The claims for parity of bott
these countries have been regularly
turned down b. the various French
governments since 1880.
In other words. while America in.
siSts on disarmament as means tt
end wars, France and her associate!
want certain reductions, merely to cut
down the present heavy burden on mel
taxpayers, provided, however, that the
present ratio between France and hel
potential enemies remains the same.
British Position Shifts.
The recent discussions at Geneva be.
tween Americas chief delegate, Hugh
Gibson, and the other delegates seen
to indicate that there are serious diff
ferences regarding the framing of thu
resolution for the adjournment of the
arms conference. There are certain
clear indications that the British repre-
sentatives, who, until recently were neu
tral with a slight inclination to defenc
the American viewpoint, are changing
and aligning themselves to the point O.
view of the French. Their attitude il
tie course of the next week will shov
more clearly whether the suspicious
which exist in certain American quar-
ters regarding the Franco-BritiSh en-
tente are founded or not.