Evening star., 1935-01-20
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.

Y YNLESS all present signs fail,
Europe is on the verge Of
new burst of diplomatic ac-
~ tivity whose Importance Is
beyond exaggeration. This
activity has double goal, to achieve
some solution of the problem of arna-
ments and to get Germany back into
the League of Nations. OF course,
the two things are closely interrelated,
for Germany refuses TO return to
Geneva until her right to equality in
armaments with France is conceded.
To-day there is substantial agree
ment between London and Rome upon
the fact that since it is impossible to
prevent Germany from rearming it is
the counsel of wisdom TO seek to reach
an agreement with Berlin in the
matter of the limitations of such re-
armament. The best that can be
accomplished. both the British and
the Italians believe, is to persuade
the Germans to consent to restrict
their armamentS to parity and per-
haps somewhat slacken the rate at
which they are approaching that goal.
The British and Italians obviously
desire to bring the Germans back into
close relations with the other great
powers-namely France and the So
Wet Union-either through the me-
dium of the League which is the
British desire or through some new
concert of Europe, which is the
Italian preference. The reason is
obvious. All four of the other powers
are now agreed upon a common re-
sistance to the Hitler designs upon
Austrian independence The recent
accords of Rome insure that Italy
will join France in fighting to prevent
1t and that they will have the moral
If not the material support of Britain
and the Soviets
Willing to Pay German Price.
If Germany comes back to Geneva
or into a f1ve-power concert she will
be completely isolated on the Austrian
question and the restraint exercised
upon her by all the other powers must
have no inconsiderable effect On the
other hand, so long as she stays out
side of the League or declines to as
sociate herself with the other great
powers such restraint cannot be exer-
cised. The British and Italians are
therefore willing to pay the German
price in armamentS for the German
return to close association with the
other powers.
The situation of France and the So
Wet Union differs materially. On the
broad issue of German rearmament
France and the Soviets are quite as
well aware as Britain and Italy that
nothing can be done to prevent the
realization of the present German pro-
gram, which aims at eventual parity
with France. But they do believe
that before Germany's right to parity
is recognized, she should herself be
compelled to make one more ac-
Acknowledgement of the inviolability Of
the territorial status quo established by
the peace treaties. They want the
Germans to agree to regional pacts
pledging their faith to respect the
status quo in the Baltic and the
Ukraine, where the Soviet Union is
interested, and in the Danubian area,
which concerns the Little Entente
allies of France.
Before there can be any agree
ment with Germany, therefore, there
must be agreement between the other
four great powers. Preliminary to
such an understanding it was neces-
sary that there should be liquida-
ton of the differences between the
French and Italians and the estab-
1ishment of a common front as to
Austria. That has been accomplished.
There remains, however, the neces-
r sity to bring about some adjustment
between the nations of the Little
Entente and Hungary over the ques-
tion Of territorial revision and some
settlement of the differences between
Italy and Yugoslavia.
Guarantees Collapsed.
For it is obvious that what is being
undertaken now is to build up purely
European system of treaties and guar
antees designed to preserve and pro-
tect the status quo. The old League
idea of collective guarantees for the
member nations by the member ma
tions collapsed with the Manchurian
affair. What remains is the idea of
building up series of regional agree
ments which will commit the inter-
What smashed the League as an
instrument of security was the atti-
tude of the various powers beginning
with the United States. America re-
fused to join the League because
membership involved responsibility
for European frontiers Britain re-
jected the protocol of 1924, which
would have insured security, because
1t was not ready to guarantee the
frontiers of Eastern Europe. All the
powers disclosed similar unwillingness
to make good their obligations of the
covenant in the case of Manchuria.
After that the last veStige of value
the League had been assumed to have
IN the matter of security was de-
stroyed.
But as early as 1925 the British had
set out, through the Locarno pacts. to
build up a new system of SECURITY.
They were ready to guarantee the
status quo in the Rhine area because
IT was vital to their own security.
They were prepared, too, to guarantee
1t both against French and German
aggression, so that there would be no
alliance, and they invited the Germans
to join in such an arrangement.
Under Stresemann's guidance, too, the
Germans did ratify the Locarno pacts.
Significance of Pacts.
The significance of these pacts was
the recognition that only where coun-
tries were vitality interested themselves
could they be counted upon to use
force to prevent aggression. Since
1925, therefore, realistic statesmen in
Europe have been attempting to sub
stitute the realities of Locarno for the
air castles of the League.
The Locarno agreement bound
France, Italy, Germany and Great
Britain to defend the status quo in
the Rhine area. The more recent