Evening star., 1934-12-28

one by one tne most OBNOXIOUS
clauses of the Versailles treaty have
been done away with either by com.
mon agreement or by the unilateral
action of the Germans.
First of all the reparations pay
mentS of the Reich to the former
| allies were cancelled; then the Hit
Ter government started rearming
Germany and building armaments,
which were forbidden to her by that
treaty, such as heavy guns, military
airplanes. tanks and poison gas. AL
though France and the Little Entente
still refuse to recognize them, the
other nations are quite willing to
accept the accomplished fact and be-
leve that the French government
will do the same since it has no
means of doing otherwise.
Finally. the Saar is going to be
returned to Germany within the next
few weeks, after the January 13 pie
biscite.
The only thing left OF that once
poWertul treaty is the territorial
clause tUhich gaue Poland the
Danzig Corridor. At one time that
Uds considered an important ques-
ton Which might hare led to
Udr. But since Poland has gone
ouer to the German camp the
Polish Corridor has ceased to tDorry
the lUorld statesmen.
While the French government and
its allies are lamenting the passing
of the Versailles treaty, there is no
doubt that its demise will help settle
the differences between the various
European countries.
When the Saar is returned to Ger
many and Germany has paid only
one-third Of the original sum asked
by France-and that in kind-there
will be no outstanding territorial
question between the two countries.
The recognition that Germany
possesses arms tUhich lDere pro-
hibited BY the Versailles treaty
might facilitate the task OF peace
makers and the deceased Genera
Limitation of Arms Conference
might be reutDed ,Dith Germanys
participation.
Certain diplomats foresee that pos
sibility of a Franco-German rap
prochement in a none too distant
future. The claims for territorial
revision by the other nations like
Hungary and Bulgaria will not be
listened to yet; they are too weak to
make trouble. Diplomats believe that
in spite of the feverish rearmament Of
all the nations, the angel Of peace
might still descend upon the earth
in 1885.
The death of the Washington naval
treaty is not lamented either. Here
tofore it did have a good effect. 1t
prevented the five signatory nations
from building battleships and spending
money on useless Notifications in the
Pacific. But outside the United States
and. up to a certain point, in Great
Britain, neither the japanese nor the
French nor the Italians liked It,.
Whether its scrapping will lead to
new naval race depends entirely on
the general international situation.
If the present overcast political sky
clears up, there is no real danger Of
such a race.
X X \ X
Japan's newest incursion in the
industrial field as a serious competitor
to Great Britain and the United
States Is in the line of automobile
manufacture. Japan has started to
export midget automobiles at low
price and of excellent quality: they
sell so per cent below the British and
the American prices. The Japanese car
is built to compete mainly with the
British Austin automobile and Is re-
tailed in Germany and in Holland
at $3.50 apiece. So far, only 500 auto
mobiles have been sent to Germany
and 400 to Holland. An assembly
plant has been built in Melbourne,
AustJ ala, and the Toxic government
hopes that within the next three
years the Japanese automobiles will
be seen everywhere where the cost
of gas is high. These midget cars are
supposed to do so miles to the gallon.