Evening star., 1934-12-30
POLITICAL BREAK FEARED
BUT UNLIKELY In SAAR
German Sentiment PredOminates and
Plebiscite May Pass Without ''1nci-
dent" but All Europe Is Fearful.

dependent Rhineland republic, and M.
Tardieu's insistence that on hiStori-
cal and sentimental grounds France
had as much right as Germany to
the Saar, had failed, Clemenceau's
appeal to the Anglo-Saxon love Of
fair play prevailed. Lloyd George and
Wilson admitted the justice Of the
French case for reparations. They
still, however, refused to swallow the
incorporation of 800, 900 Germans into
France.
Passing of the Buck.
So, naturally, recourse was had to
the old game of passing the buck. The
Saar baby was neatly wrapped up in
a blanket and set aside to be deposited
on the doorstep of the League of Ma
tions as soon as that institution should
provide doorstep for the purpose.
And, meantime, it was pretty closely
guarded by French bayonets.
The Saar controversy of the last Is
years has arisen from that decision Of
the Versailles negotiators. When they
were shown the "Saar statute" which
forms part of the peace treaty, the
Germans, of course, protested-as, in
fact, they did about most of the rest
Of the document
The statute provided that for Is
years the Saar area should be admin
istered by commission appointed by
the League of Nations. At the end of
that period it was arranged that the
inhabitants of the Saar should decide
their own political destiny by means
of plebiscite held under the Leagues
supervision. Meanwhile the Saar coal
mines were to become the absolute
property of the French state, and
should the plebiscite result in the re-
attachment of the Saar to Germany,
the German government would have
to buy out the French interest in them.
Actually, of course, the mines have
remained in private hands; it was the
ultimate title to them that was vested
in France.
The League Of Nations duly took
in the infant from its doorstep and
sent its governing commission into
the Saar. Meanwhile, however, the
French military occupation con-
tinued-as did also the old dream of
eventually extending the French from
tier to the Rhine Until 1923 the
French kept up a more or less con-
sistent effort to "Frenchify" the Saar.
They introduced French money into
the district; they started French
schools, and when the Saar miners
went on strike in sympathy with the
passive resistance" movement in the
Ruhr they moved in heavy reinforce
ments Of French troops. The Saar-
landers, slightly sullen. but for prac-
tical purposes powerless to resist.
merely marked time The area dur
ing this time had its share Of the
disturbances that were common
throughout Germany. Materially
speaking. however, it was. and has
remained, definitely better of than
the rest Of the Reich.
Its Incorporation within the French
financial system saved it from the
worst consequences of the imitation
period in Germany. It had, under
the League administration, no ma
tional deot and comparatively low
taxes. It's enjoyment of free trade
with France and virtually free trade
with Germany brought it prosperity.
Protests Continued.
Yet the Saarlanders continued to
lombard Geneva with protests. They
first asked for, and obtained, a legis-
latlve assembly-a sort of local parlia-
ment with advisory" functions. They
continually demanded the withdrawal
of the French troops. They protested
in numerous other ways against what
to an outsider might have seemed
their good fortune
In 1926, when Germany was admit
ted to the League of Nations, there
was talk of abandoning the plebiscite
and handing the Saar back to Ger
many forthwith. But the era of good
feeling inaugurated by BRAND and
Stresemann did not last long 1t was
not until 1890 that the last French
troops left the Saar.
At this time the casual visitor would
not have realized that he was in a
European danger spot" In Saar-
brucken, the capital, and in the little
villages there seemed a reasonable
amount of contentment, order and
prosperity.
The result of the 1885 plebiscite
seemed to every one pretty much
foregone conclusion. 1t was univer-
sally conceded that there would be
practically no votes for union with
France: and not many-perhaps per
cent-for continuation under the
League. The rest-until two years
ago-would certainly have been cast
for a reunion with Germany
But in the last two years yet another
complication has been introduced into
the Saar tangle. During that period
Germany has become Fascist state
under the absolute leadership of Hit
Ter, and the new issues created by this
event cut completely across the old
alignment in the Saar. On the one
hand, unconditional return of the Saar
to Germany figures prominently In
the NaZi program. On the other, the
struggle between the Nazis and their
opponents, as reproduced in the Saar,
is being carried on in the presence
of a referee, which means that many
OF CIlc l1eCQOOS uSCO
are not tolerated. Finally, some 70
per cent of the 100000 Saarlanders
are Catholics members of church
with which Hitler has not got on too
we'll inside Germany. BY political
alignment between 80 and 40 per cent
of the Saar people are Socialists or
Communists, neither of which class is
too popular inside the Reich.
Strength Of Nationality.
So will the fact of their German
nationality prove sufficient to deter the
Saar Catholics and Marxists from vot-
ing against union with q regime GER
tain important features of which they
cordially detest?
Most students of the Saar problem
think that the plebiscite will still go
in Germany's favor, although prob
ably not so overwhelmingly as it would
otherwise have done. In any event,
there can be no subsequent complaint
by the Saarlanders that they did not
what they were doing, for
inside the Saar territory there has
been waged in microcosm for two
years the same fight between NaZi and
optiNozi that has taken place in