Evening star., 1935-01-13
FRANCE MAY BE FORCED
TO DOOM NAVAL TREATY
Suggestions Call for
Paris Maintaining Denounced Pact,
Points Out Commentator.

nese gesture and offer Toxic some
modification Of the Washington quota,
ora more probable contingency
the American and British govern
ments would consider that they were
helpless and would let the 1922 treaty
fall to the ground. In either case,
the French navy would be released
from the unfair treatment which was
meted out to it IL years ago-and
this would have been accomplished
without the French governments
being compelled to incur any re-
sponsibility for it.
However, 1t is not certain. even yet,
that France will remain passive to
the end. In such vital matters one
can easily be too clever. Should
France also denounce the Washing
ton treaty, nobody would be surprised;
nobody would wonder. But If she
continues to remain silent, she may
run into unexpected complications.
Already the French authorities have
been confronted by an anglo-Amer-
ican suggestion Cup to now unoficially
expreSsed) to the effect that France
should agree to a new convention
whereby the treaty Of Washington,
although no longer valid in Japan,
would nevertheless continue to be
observed by the four other sigma
tories-the United States, England,
France and Italy.
May Come Again.
This suggestion has already been
summarily dismissed, but 1t cannot be
said yet whether it will not be oficially
put forward under one form or an
other. Some observers say that q
subtle construction might even be
placed in the initial phrase of clause
% in the Washington treaty Cthe
denunciation clause) that could per-
form good service, in this juncture.
for Norman Davis, Ramsay Mac
Donald and Mussolini. Then the
French government at last would have
to come in the open and express its
mind in full. In that way q greater
measure Of odium would certainly
fall upon it than would have been
the case If it had previously declared
itself.
France would find herself in the
same invidious position If, perchance.
England and America succeeded in
shaping some kind of compromise
with Japan. And Frances attitude
would seem all the clumsier because
at the time the approach Of the Toxic
government was discouraged, no mys-
terry was made Of the fact that France
was In sympathy with Japan's atti-
tude. Assurances to that effect were
given to the japanese representatives,
and those assurances have probably
become known to any government In
the world which cared to inquire. In
view Of these facts, 1t can be pre-
dicted that in the near future the
French government will have to de-
fine its position either through diplo-
matte channels or by the raeans Of
public statement.
There is hardly any use explaining
why the French government feels 50
hostile to the Washington treaty. Let
us simply recall that in 1914, on the
eve Of the great war, the French navy
nearly stood on the same level as the
American. was stronger than the jap
anese and twice as large as the Ital-
ian. During the four years Of the
world struggle France had to devote
all her industrial resources to the fab
rication Of war material for herself
and the allied armies, and in conse-
quence her sea power steadily decayed
CONTINUED on Fourth Pase,l