THE RUHR
SIR,—At a time when there are so many other issues to distract public opinion, it is good that the Spectator continues to direct attention to the question of Germany's future. In your issue of January 14th you say, " The Military Security Board must be made . . . durable." But in view of the growing revival of aggressive nationalism, is it likely that it will last any longer than did the Allied Military Commissions last time ? The establishment of some form of control which will outlast the Security Board seems essential.
A partial safeguard might be found in Allied, instead of exclusively German, ownership of the German coal and steel industries. Even if the Germans decide to nationalise these industries, that, as you have pointed out, is no guarantee that they will always be used only for peaceful purposes ; and those who know something of the power of the industrial magnates realise the possibility of the industries reverting to private ownership, with all its dangers, as happened with the Prussian State collieries. Would it not be better for the Allies to form an inter- national body to acquire the ownership of these highly concentrated industries—a body in which France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany held shares—and possibly Britain and the U.S.A. ? Some such scheme would do something to allay French anxiety, give all the participants an Interest in the prosperity of Germany and, ultimately, facilitate the co- operation and integration of the Ruhr steel and coal industries with those across the frontier, of which, economically and geologically, they
ot.
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