It will be remembered that the military conversations between the
French and British • Staffs before the War were taken by Frenchmen as implying the justice of the French claim to British help as a matter of course. Sir Edward Grey's repeated explanations that Great Britain was discussing the future academically and could not commit herself were ignored. And, of course, Frenchmen were ,not alone in reading this meaning into' the conversations. German critics have gone so far as to cite them as a proof that Great Britain and France conspired against Germany. Yet the British General Staff did no more than its bare and proper business in considering any situation which might arise as the result of Germany's deliberate policy of building the Schlieffen strategic railway to the Belgian frontier. All this shows how difficult it is to escape from incon- venient consequences of innocent acts, and we are not surprised at the American caution. At the same time we must sincerely hope that a consultative pact, implantin,g in France some real confidence, may be feasible. The signatories of such a pact could all solemnly bear witness to the fact that no promise of military help was even implied by the United States.
