Letters to the Editor
[In view of the length of many of the letters which we receive, we would remind correspondents that we often cannot give space for long letters and that short ones are generally read with more attention. The length which we consider most suitable is about that of one of our paragraphs on " News of the Week."—[Ed. Seactxroa.]
UNREST IN EUROPE
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sut—The Disarmament Conference is taking us nowhere. Most of the nations are engaged in a game of make-believe. The French, who did not want this conference, are mainly concerned to make nothing look like something. The Germans want parity so that they may be able to talk more firmly to the French. Mussolini's swing over from aeroplanes darkening the sky to talk about the hoirors of war has never been satisfactorily explained. There is reason to suspect that it had more to do with tactics than with a change of heart. There is no peace spirit on the Continent. There is more unrest than there was in 1914. And neither here nor there is any attempt being made to face the facts. We arc simply drifting, perhaps to disaster.
The unfriendly relations of France and Germany are the root of the trouble. If France and Germany could be recon- ciled, many of the minor troubles, such as the Danzig Corridor, would automatically disappear. These minor troubles are effects, not causes.
I suggest that the reconciling of France and Germany is not impossible. A spirit of revenge is not inevitable as the result of a war. It depends on the settlement. There was 310 spirit of revenge after the Boer War or after the Prusso- Austrian War of 1860. If French fears were analysed, they would be found, I think, to concern Alsace-Lorraine. There is little doubt that a majority of Germans believe that Alsace-Lorraine should be German, How can there be peace on that basis ?
Reading between the lines, and on the lines of memoirs dealing with the War and with the Treaty of Versailles, one is justified in thinking that Mr. Lloyd George, President Wilson, Col. House, and others were doubtful of the wisdom of restoring Alsace-Lorraine, in its entirety, unconditionally, to France. M. Thomas, former French minister, now connected with the League of Nations, was in favour of a plebiscite (sec Lord Bertie's Memoirs.)
Both French and Germans could make one dizzy with arguments from history in support of their claims to this territory. But we cannot turn back the pages of history. We cannot restore America to the Red Indians. I can think of no good reason why the people of Berlin or Paris should presume to tell the people of Strasburg how they are to be governed. A plebiscite by districts in Alsace-Lorraine seems to me now the only wise solution.
There remains the awkward circumstance that although Germany declares that she did not cause the War she is being made to pay Reparations. If Germany became strong again, would she demand her money back ? I think Germany was entirely to blame for the War ; but there ought to have been some kind of inquiry. We have made a hash of this
Previous page
