Evening star., 1935-02-04
Another Peace Pact.

Provided Germany falls in with
them, the arrangements just con-
cluded between Great Britain and
France for strengthening the founda-
tions of peace in Europe should have
useful and far-reaching results. Out
standing in the agreement reached by
French Premier Flandin and Foreign
Minister Laval with Prime Minister
Macdonald and other British cabinet
officials is an offer to Germany to an
, null part five of the Versailles treaty,
which denied arms equality to the
Reich, conditional upon it's readiness
to rejoin the League of Nations and
participate in general efforts to re-
duce ornaments.
Thus is gratified in broad effect the
desire of the Germans, so vehemently
voiced during the Hitler regime, to be
relieved of the ignominious status OF
military inferiority and to resume
the level of a first-class European
power. To that extent the Anglo
French agreement on its face is a
German diplomatic victory of the first
French, in spirit of realism, merely
place the seal of approval upon what
the whole world knows to be an ac-
complished fact-that Germany has
rearmed, despite the prohibitive
clauses Of the Versailles treaty-and
are proceeding to make the best of
an irrevocable situation.
OF NO less significance is a pro-
posed f1ve-power agreement to be
signed by Britain, France, Germany,
Italy and Belgium, whereby in the
event Of aggression by air against any
one of those powers the others pledge
themselves literally to fly to her
assistance. As yet another guarantee
Of peace, Britain proclaims her readi-
ness to Join the Franco Italian agree
nlent Of January 7, providing for the
independence and territorial integrity
of Austria. The British also are pre-
pared to support French efforts for an
Eastern Locarno" treaty, designed to
insure in Northeastern and South
eastern Europe that same mutual
assistance among nations threatened
by war as is provided for in Western
Europe by the original Locarno pact.
Finally Britain Identifies herself with
the principle laid down in the Franco
Italian agreement that there can be
no unilateral modification of the
peace treaty provisions respecting
ornaments, by either Germany or any
Of the other World War losers.
It remains to be seen how public
opinion in Great Britain and France
will react to the new agreement. The
French are likely to feel that the air
pact represents an additional British
commitment to bulwark French secu-
rity, which Paris has long demanded
in return for recognition of German
rearmament. The British, on their
part, assure themselves for the first
time of continental aerial assistance
in case of air aggression against John
Bulls islands
The possible beneficial effects of
the Anglo-French agreement are i'm
measurable. If its provisions are
whole-heartedly accepted by all the
nations within its scope, the fragile
peace structure in Europe will be
fortified to a point at which only the
most wanton aggression could under
mine it. There is no longer any
reason to doubt that Old World states
manship Is making an earnest, prac-
tical and comprehensive effort to come
to grips with existing conditions and
divest them of the dangers of war
inherent in them. America views the
attempt with detached but sympathetic
interest and wishes for 1t complete
and enduring success.