Evening star., 1955-02-22
By Crosby S. Noyes
Foreiqn Correspondent of The Stcs

| BONN.-What Will 1t mean
for Germany, if the French alter
or refuse to ratify the Paris
treaties on Germany's future?
No one in Germany knows the
answer to that question. Few
responsible officials even like to
talk about it.
Don't ask me-" said Heinrich
Won Brentano. floor leader for
the Christian Democrats in the
Bundestag. "My imagination is
pretty lively, but it doesn't
, stretch as far as that. All I
can say is that it would be an
extremely serious situation.
DR.. Won Brentano. who has
been tapped to take over as
Germany's new Foreign Minis
ter, has an unusually personal
stake in seeing the treaties rati-
fled on schedule. There is little
prospect. that Chancellor Aden-
auer will give up the job Of
being his own Foreign Minister
until Germany becomes a SOW
ereign state again.
Changes Possible.
In spite of his understandable
reticence, DR.. Won Brentano made
one important point for the
record in the course Of our con-
versation. Germany is not ruling
out the possibility that the Paris
Treaties might still be changed
considerably.
Any changes suggested by the
French which would tend to i'm
prove the treaty, he said, would
receive the most sympathetic
consideration from the German
government. The future Foreign
Minister implied that these i'm
provements might consist of
measures to strengthen the sup
ranational aspects of the treaty
organization-in other words. to
restore to Western union some
of the features of the EDO which
would bind the six nations into
a more compact unit.
Asked if this meant that Ger
many would accept the idea of
a European arms pool to control
the manufacture and distribution
Of armaments, DR.. Won Brentano
replied
Germany would have no OBJ
lection to an arms pool - al
though not exactly the kind Of
arms pool proposed by Mr..
Mendes- France.
The idea of an arms pool was
a SPECIAL brainchild of the former
French Premier. The treaty, ap-
proved by the national assembly,
is now before the Senate. If the
Senate amends the text to in
clude new supranational fea-
lures. it seems quite possible that
the assembly will adopt them
on a second reading.
Would 1t Kill Treaties?
Many reporters have predicted
that, if this happens, the treaties
are as good as dead. the theory
being that other members of
the community would not stand
for any rewriting of the text by
the French. DR.. Won Brentano's
statement suggests that, so far
as Germany Is concerned. this is
not necessarily true. At the same
time. he makes it clear that his
government would prefer to see
the French National Assembly
ratify the texts first and then
talk about changes later on. The
prospect of another conference
to renegotiate the treaties at this
point is singularly unappealing.
At the same time. the posSi-
oility that the Paris treaties may
be killed or indefinitely post
poned also is taken seriously by |
every German politician.
One cheering assumption is
always made: Even though the
French may turn thumbs down
on German rearmament and the |
creation Of Western union, they |
will vote to restore German
sovereignty. This was the one
part Of the Paris treaty that.
won overwhelming approval from
the French deputies. and there is
little question that they will |
change their minds now.
If 1t were only a question Of |
the way Germans feel, this
might not be a particularly |
catastrophe state of affairs. |
There are, after all. plenty of |
Germans who would like to see |
Germany free again without re-
armament and without military |
alliances with the West. And If |
the French are blamed for
creating a state Of affairs on
that order. so much the better. !