INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS FOR PEACE.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—It is not generally known in Great Britain that there is in France a powerful and organized body of opinion drawn, not from Communists or " extremists," but from the bourgeois, Catholic, and other religious circles in favour of wholehearted reconciliation with Germany. This new movement in public opinion, which surely we should welcome and encourage, is most definitely articulate through an Association known as " La Jeune Republique," which, through its International
Committee and links with other countries, is called " Pinter- national Democratique " and is led by M. Marc Sangnier. Last year the movement organized a Congress at Freiburg, where 120 young people from France met several hundred German peace-lovers. This was the biggest Congress of Franco-German friendship held since the War, and it seems to have been a permanent inspiration and a new vision of life to all who took part in it. At the Congress a German woman offered all her jewellery for the restoration of the devastated zones of France. Others followed her example, and a collection was taken throughout Germany to raise funds to enable a group of young Germans to carry out a mission of friendship and reconstruction in the devastated area. This act of reconciliation by the Germans made a deep impression in France.
This year the annual Congress of this movement is to be held in the Central Hall, Westminster, on September 17th, 18th and 19th, when about 150 foreign delegates, 100 of whom will be French, will meet a similar number of people who are representative of movements that are working for inter- nationalism in Great Britain. At an official reception at Lancaster House the delegates will be welcomed by Lord Arnold on behalf of the Government. A public meeting will be held in the Central Hall on September 18th, when Viscount Gladstone will preside, and the speakers will include , Marc Sangnier, Dr. Quidde, of Munich, the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, M.P., and George Lansbury, M.P. The recent London Conference has shown that the real problem in Europe to-day is a psychological one, and in creating the right psychology among the peoples, without which the politicians are helpless, this coming Congress has a contribution to make of the highest importance.—I am, Sir, &c., A. Rum FRY, Hon. Sec. Millbank House, 2 Wood Street, Westminster, S.W. 1.
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