Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-11-05

ASSN
German army not exceeding 2O0,-
900 men to bolster the defenses
between the Elbe and Rhine
Rivers.
Such force. composed of good
fighting men who are willing to
oppose the Red hordes, could not
" a threat to Frances security.
This Is for two reasons: Cd The
German equipment would come
from American, British or French
factories and could be shut off as
soon as the emergency was over;
and (2) the United States has
fully guaranteed Frances secur-
1ity. regardless of whether it was
attacked by Russia or by Ger
many.
Unity Lacking
The bitter French opposition to
this plan-the only one consid-
cred capable of meeting the i'm
mediate defense requirements,
appalled, civilian and military Of
ficials who met last week. Surely,
they said, France. with all these
guarantees, could not be fright
ened to the point of sabotaging
Western defense, because coun-
try like Germany, devastated as
France never has been, and de-
pendent for her future on the
good will of the West, was to con-
tribute 10 divisions to the COM
mon fight against Communist ag-
erosion.
Frances past fear, when Ger
many was a nation of IS million,
unfortunately were more than
justified. England was always
considered doubtful ally by the
French, although she lived up
handsomely to her promises in two
World Wars. Until two years ago
the United States persistently re-
fused to promise any help to the
warning Europeans. Now when
we have guaranteed Frances Sc
curity and Germany is much
smaller and weaker than she has
been for at least 100 years, why
this inordinate fear?
Frances political problems are
her own. But when they inter-
fere with the Vests defense set
up, created by this country at I'M
imaginable expenditure, they be-
come the business of all Frances
associates.
The compromise offered by Mr..
Moch, to accept German units in
a European army when such an
organization is created, was re-
jected without much talk. There
is no such thing as Western Euro
pean unity. The idea put for
ward by the French Defense Min
lister involved the creation of a
European defense department, re-
sponsible to a European parlia-
ment.
Neither a European defense de-
partment nor European parlia-
ment exist and it may be years
before such an organization can
come into being. The fundamental
idea of having Germans as mer-
cenaries within the ranks of the
French Army-a kind of superla-
tive Foreign Legion-could not be
accepted because we are aware
that the Bonn government would
never entertain such thought.
Politically, the act the French
have put on in Washington,
strongly supported by Premier
Rene Pleven himself, means that
the hopes of a European confed-
Grafton, including all the nations
which aim at preserving individual
freedom, will have to be delayed
for a very long time.
Gulf Widens
The plan offered by French
Foreign Minister Schuman-tor-
pedoed by the British government
for a pool of the French and
German coal and steel industries
was greeted with delight not only
In this country but all over the
world.
1t was the first sound step to-
ward real reconciliation between
the two neighbors on the Rhine,
two neighbors who supplement
each other and who could by
active cooperation defend them
selves and the rest of Europe
against the barbarians from the
East.
We were willing to help this
eventual economic merger to be
followed by a. solid political I'M
derstanding with everything in
our power. But unfortunately the
matter remained in the blueprint
stage. Meanwhile, the question of
military defense cropped up as
a must.
The antics of the men in the
kremlin were such that to ignore
their threatening attitude would
have been criminal, for the sake
OF both this country and the rest
OF the free world. The coal and
steel merger became a secondary
problem. But the organization of
a German defense army, under
the control of the Western SUI
preme commander, in all likeli-
hood a high-ranking American
colonel, was to be the tombstone
OF improved French German re-
lations.
If Mr.. Pleven and Mr.. Moch
had displayed as much states
manship and selflessness as their
Foreign Minister, Mr.. Schunan.
the question of Germany becom-
ing a partner in eventual blood
shed would have been a minor
debatable matter, but it would
have cemented the friendships
between these two important
European countries.
AS it is, the gulf between
France and Germany has become
wider. The Germans now have
IL e.