Evening star., 1954-12-25

Britain VIII press for the quick
,rearmament Of West Germany
even If France finally objects.
Secretary OF State Dulles feels
that rearming Western Germany
- under the limitations now,
planned-is so vital to the fate
Of the Western world that moth
ing can be allowed to interfere
This means that unless Paris
reverses its position Monday and
goes along with Anglo-American
Cheerful Mendes- France Off on Holiday
Trip. Poee A-3
plans for Western Germany, the
United States and Great Britain
win push France temporarily
aside and plan their defenses
without France.
This would force a tremendous
change in Western military
strategy. as the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization has based
all Of its defense planning on the
thesis that France could and
would play q major role in any
war with the Soviet Union.
Aid Would Stop.
A final French Assembly vote
against German rearmament-
with-safeguards almost certainly
would mean that Congress would
stop grant aid for French de-
fenses. Even If the Assembly on
Monday reverses itself, the pre-
liminary mo" vote still is ex-
pected to have a powerful impact
on the congressional attitude to-
ward the French.
Dulles Dismayed.
The French Assembly's pre-
liminary rejection of the West
German rearmament plan left
Mr.. Dulles shocked and dismayed.
From his home, he talked twice
by telephone with President
Eisenhower in Augusta, Ca, once
with United States Ambassador
c. Douglas Dillon In Paris, and
conferred here for an hour with
British Ambassador Sir Roger
Makins.
Afterwards. Great Britain is-
sued o statement that, 1.-THE |
issue Is not whether the German |
Federal Republic win rearm, but |
how" Mr.. Dulles did not issue
q formal statement, but he fully |
agreed with the British stand.
The best information reaching
Mr.. Dulles was that the French
kssembly's rejection of a pact to
allow German rearmament came
at least partly as the result of
French politics. This appraisal
was that French deputies wanted
to slap at Premier Pierre Men
des-FrancsS so they planned to
allow the rearmament scheme
to slip through with only tiny
majority. But they overshot the
mark, and actually defeated the
proposal.
This thesis encouraged Mr..
Dulles to hope that the French
Assembly will reverse itself when
it reconsiders the problem on
Monday. Premier MendeS-France
has staked the fate of his govern
ment on the Monday ballot.
Serious Doubt Raised.
Even should the French As
sembly finally approve German
rearmament, the Assembly's ac-
ton so far has raised in Mr..
Dulles mind the question
whether France has the capacity
to make decisions that are re-
quired of a major power In to-
days world.
II the Mendes-France govern
ment falls and Is .discredited
over the German rearmament
issue, official Washington can't
see the makings of any French
government that would be re-
sponsible for its decisions.
France today faces great
problems with the Soviet Union.
Indo- China and its colonies In
Africa-problems too great to
meet without allies. But can
France deal responsibly with its
allies when French politicians
cannot agree on o leader. and do
not deal with their national
problems In o statesmanlike
manner?
The United States and Great
Britain may wind up clinging
tightly to each other. with
France being represented by
what British Prime Minister Sir
Winston Churchill has men,
toned as an empty chair"
Sir Winston first alluded to
the empty chair" at the time
France was killing the Euro
pean Defense Community. Un-
der this plan. German man.
power would have been placed
in armies controlled by its allies.
After EDO was rejected, the
United States and Great Brit
ain sponsored the current pro-
posal TO let Western Germany
build its own armies, but Join
the North Atlantic Treaty Or
ganization. NATO would exer-
else some control Of the reborn
(See DULLES. Page A-S.)