Evening star., 1936-03-15
France
Continued From First Page)

their work practically was nullifed
beforehand by the necessity for
Unanimous action on penalties.
Some members Of the Council were
inclined to believe Hitler would ac-
cept the invitation to send repre-
sentative to London, possibly the
iuridical expert, Dr.. GauS, who aided
in drawing up the Locarrlo pact IN
1925.
The unanimous vote to invite Ger
man participation occurred IN a secret
session which followed open arraign-
ment of the Hitler regime by repre-
sentatives of three nations.
Even as they acted. the Third Reich
disclosed plans for implementing its
reoccupation of this buffer area bor-
dering France and Belgium with a
series Of pill box" Notifications.
Good Will to NaZis Seen.
Though France presented its pro-
tests in words strong with the threat
of direct action against Germany, good
will toward the Nazi regime was not
entirely lacking.
Eden was distinctly conciliatory.
Foreign Minister Pierre-Etienne Flan-
din said he could only ask the Coun-
Gil to terminate the Gocarno) treaty
If it establishes that the League OF
Nations assures in other ways suffi-
cient guarantees"
He backed that up. however. with
the statement that France expected
help in case of emergency, adding
that if treaties can be broken so
easily. the system of collective Sc
curity under the League covenant is
useless.
Flandin's inference was that other
Nocarno Signatories would be asked
to invoke sanctions against Germany
as punishment for her action.
Earlier the French had described
their situation, outside the confer
ence hall, in this way: They refused
to negotiate with Germany under
the menace" of the Rhineland oc-
cupation; and, Great Britain refused
to countenance any form of sanctions
against Germany.
With Stanley NJ. Bruce O.: Australia,
Council president, presiding, Flandin
asserted in open session that Ger
many's invasion of the Rhineland was
not a question of few symbolic"
detachments, but an important force
of more than 10000 regular troops
ito mention only those officially an
N,a,,yoad Lu fLa Coryoo ,, ooyarnr,oepf -
The text of the Locarno treaty, he
said, authorized Franc Ito take ur-
gent, brutal, decisive measures" to
meet lone of the gravest crises in the
history of peace and its collective or
ganization."
Eden agreed. Il will only say" he
observed, that in our view a patent
and incontestable breach of the treaty
of Versailles relating to the demili-
tarized zone and the treaty of Lo-
carno has been committed"
Failure of the German government
TO give guarantees against fortiflca-
ton Of the Rhineland annoyed the
British, because they thought it pre-
eented an almost insurmountable hur-
die to obtaining conciliatory moves
from the French.
Points to Soviet Pact.
F1andin ridiculed juridical argu-
ments put forward by Germany, based
on the Russo French mutual-assist-
ance pact recently concluded, to
Justify the reoccupation.
THE German government" he said,
shas no reply to make" adding that
It had made no effort to submit the
Rhineland question to arbitration.
Paul van Iceland, speaking for
kiny Belgium, told the meeting Ger
many had struck q hard blow at the
system of collective security and at
the hopes for creating a new inter-
national structure Of peace.
In the readily assumed role of
peacemaker, Eden assured the Coun-
Gil of the fullest cooperation Of the
British government Ito establish peace
and understanding among the ma
tions of Europe on frm and enduring
foundations.
You can have no doubt" Flandin
said, as Foreign Minister Nicholas
Titulescu fidgeted nervously, that
this decision taken by Germany has
been prepared for a long time and
that the argument put forward in
support Of it is only q pretext chosen
from among others which have been
previously considered"
Litvinoff Is Present.
Nearby, Foreign Conmissar Maxim
LitvinoH fingered his glasses, pushing
them UP on his forehead again and