Evening star., 1935-04-14
ECONOMIC WEAPON
USED AT STRESA'
Europe Sees Best Way to
Check Germany Is Through
Pressure.
BY WALTER DURANTY.

By Radio to The Star.
STRESA. Italy, April 13 (N.A.N.A).
Slowly, but surely. the Stresa Con-
ference is being driven toward two con-
clusions-frst. that Germany cannot
be checked by force. or the threat of
force. and, second, that economic and
financial pressure upon Germany Is
the only effective weapon.
From this there follows the further
conclusion that the best way to handle
Germany is through later confer
ence. wherein Germany will partic-
ipate on equal terms and be allowed to
state her own case.
The other participants, Great Brit
ain. France. Italy, Russia and perhaps
Poland and the Little Entente, will
hear what Germany has to say and
will either meet the German claims In
defenseless disagreement. or will tell
Germany straight. There is something
in your argument, and on this point
and that we are prepared to talk with
you, but please don't forget that we
know quite we'll, despite all your bluff.
that. economically speaking, you are
living from hand to mouth and that
if we cut off from you-with or with
out formal announcement of eco
nomic sanctions by the League of Ma
tions-our trade and financial deal
ings. you will be in great difficulty
within a month or two"
Agree on Methods.
Before the Stresa conference. there
was a good deal of defenseless disa-
greement in Europe. There still Is a
lack of agreement on many OF the
most important points But on the
most important point Of all, namely,
economic pressude, agreements are
being reached.
1t is true there are many difficult
ties in the way of exercising that
pressure. To begin with, Stresa has
no authority to speak for the League
of Nations. But. if the three great ma
tions here decide to use the economic
and financial weapon against Ger
many, there is little reason to sup
pose that the smaller European
members of the League won't follow.
The United States has a perfect
right to insist upon economic and
financial dealings with Germany to
an extent that would shatter a Euro
pean boycott and thus upset the Euro
pean applicant. But the United
States is not likely to do so in the
present juncture and, anyway. that
is chance the European powers
have to take.
Germany Is Aware.
1t is now clear that Germany is
aware that Great Britain, France and
Italy are ready to put a finger on
Germany's weak point, because Sir
John Simon told the conference that
the Germans had informed the
British ambassador to Berlin they
were willing to engage in multi-lateral
pacts Of non-aggression, even with
countries which engaged in pacts Of
mutual assistance.
To the average American reader. all
this talk of pacts is so much more
bewildering nonsense. And the aver
age American reader is quite right
there have been more than a hundred
of these pacts since the Versailles
treaty, and all of them are words and
more words
But what isn't nonsense is the fact
that Germany has expressed willing
ness to engage in pacts. because it
means-in plain English, shorn Of
all this pact verbiage-that Ger
many is willing to play-that Ger
many is worried about the idea OF a
general economic boycott-that the
big and hitherto successful bluff which
Germany has put up against the rest
of Europe isn't proof against the Ger
man fear that Stresa may hit Ger
many on her tender spot, namely, for
eign trade and raw materials and
finance.
European statesmen have come
finally to understand that the eco
ncmic boycott and finance constitute
their most effective weapon against
Germany.
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