TOPICS OF THE DAY
FRANCE, GERMAN Y AND SECURITY
THE situation, both general and particular, caused -I- by the relations between Germany and France, and by the demand of France that we should give her security, and give it to her by adopting her own view of how it is obtainable, is causing no little anxiety.
Let us deal first with the special and immediate source of unrest. It is the failure of the French authorities to give -prompt publicity to the Report of the Inter-Allied Military Commission of Control in the matter of German disarmament. That Report is stated to be still in the hands of the Inter-Allied Military Committee at Ver- sailles, of which Marshal Foch is President. The delay, resting on processes of circumlocution which are appar- ently consciously adopted, is not only unsatisfactory per se but is calcUlated to destroy that confidence in the sincerity of France which it is of immense importance for her,. and incidentally for us, to maintain in our relations . with Germany.
What the British people want, and what the French people would want, if they could only be induced to . look at the facts without prejudice, is a settlement which will make the Germans feel that it is worth while for them to try to be friends with France once more worth while to make a determined effort to get rid of that obsession of vindictive hatred which during the last two years has been growing with appalling rapidity and intensity in Germany.
- We are convinced that one of the best possible ways of obtaining that better spirit in Germany which we desire is to give the utmost publicity to all the facts in regard to her alleged failure to disarm. If it is true that Germany has been evading her obligations under the Treaty of Versailles, and evading them, not because of physical difficulties, but because of an ill-intent, the facts should at once be made known. France can never get the special pledges of security that she desires unless she has public opinion here in her favour. She must produce the_ evidence of German perfidy. What the English people demand, and rightly demand, is facts, not suspic- ions. The only way to differentiate between facts and suspicions is to give full publicity—publicity covering the whole field. It must be stated distinctly and specific-- ally what the German Government and German people are accused of doing or not doing, and these accusations must be communicated in detail to the accused. They must be asked what answer they have got to give, what remedial action they propose to take for the future. If this is done and aggressive action can he shown to be intended by the German Government, France will have secured all that she could possibly want in the matter of influencing opinion here.
It remains to consider the general problem of how to give France the security she claims. All depends upon hoW security is defined, and upon the means by which the desired condition is to be brought about and maintained. If by security is meant securing France and Belgium from unprovoked invasion by Germany, then France may be assured that the British people would not tolerate such an attack, but would use all means in their power to prevent it. We want to protect our late Allies from invasion now as strongly as we wanted to protect them from such an iniquity in 1914.- What is the true way of obtaining security ? The best possible .security for France—indeed, it is the only perthabent security which she can obtain—is the existence of a contented and peaceable community on her Eastern frontier. Germany must beCome a nation which does not cherish any ungovernable desire for revenge one, in fact, which does not feel that it can regain its free- dom and its self-respect only by striking back at a powerfhl, cruel and domineering neighbour. The best possibleway of obtaining security against an-attack from a nest of hornets near one's house, a nest which for physical reasons one cannot destroy for good and all, is to refrain from any foolish attempts to get rid of the danger by half measures, i.e., by perpetually stirring up the hornets. France, un- fortunately, seems to believe in the policy of a perpetual stirring up. She knows full well that the German people cannot be exterminated, but must remain a powerful neighbour at her gates, but she seems unable to realize that the alternative of cultivating the growth of a fairly satisfied Germany must of necessity be adopted if there is to be peace. Such a Germany might gradually come to think with regret and remorse of the follies and crimes into which her militaristic monarchy led a too acquiescent and obedient people. Can anyone looking back on the past two yehis say that France has acted wisely, judged solely from the point of view of safety and security, in what she has done in the Ruhr or in the Rhineland ? Her acts there, including the horrible attempts to use agents provocateurs to tear Germany in pieces in the Rhineland, the place where German national *sentiment runs very high, were the kind of outrage which nations find it almost impossible to forget or to forgive. Misfortunes in the field, as France knows herself, arc. far more easily put out of mind than such humiliations. No one in France worries about Waterloo, in the main because we refused to allow our German allies to harry and humiliate France.
To -be frank, France • seems to have become extra- ordinarily reckless in the use of the tremendous position of power which she acquired in Europe under the Treaty of Versailles—a power which no one in this country would have grudged her if she had used it wisely towards Germany anal, with fairness and consideration towards ourselves. Consider for a moment what a ease we have against France if we desired to press it, as we certainly do not. She is now asking us for the full pound of flesh, and a little more, in the matter of alliance. yet when we as her Ally told her formally that we considered her action in the Ruhr was contrary to the Treaty of Versailles, she took no notice, but acted -" on her own " just as if the alliance had come to an end. In fact, if we cared to remind her of it, she dissolved the partnership by taking action Contrary to our expressed view of the settlement made at the end of the War. In a word. it would be very easy if-one Wanted to do so, to show that France since the Peace has taken everything she could from us, has given us little or nothing in return, and is now trying to im pale us on an odious and unfah dilemma: We must either lay ourselves open to hey charges of base desertion, or else obey her beheSts ia regard to Germany and so make the establishment of a permanent peace in 'Europe impossible !
If we want to be lasting friends with France, as unques- tionably we do, we must tell her in plain language that her present attitude is not calculated to bring us into an essential partnership. If she had now the wisdom and the moral courage to change her policy, to come forward and say that her object is not _to dominate Germany by force of arms, and perpetual pin-pricks, but to re-establish Germany - as a self-respecting member cf the European sommunity, - she - would; we believe, create universal good will herself. Thar would be her inviolab le security.
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