IS LOCARNO DEAD?

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18668, 17 April 1926, Page 15

IS LOCARNO DEAD?

Germany and The League. FRENCH DIPLOMACY. Was Sir Austen Chamberlain Caught in a Trap? (Special to " The Press.") * rt m Eon David Lloyd George, 0.M., M.P., ex-Prime Minister of fie Bt. Mo*, v t Br . tain)

TflloC aniO already, a. dead as stepping ' .P?£. generally are* If it - rtrt the «<"">« another 1S pla , ! rfleam the better, for Locarno has SJSt. be slippery and Germany ZZrZk what to likely to happen \T*»i.« T*a«rae of Nations? /s&£*»* ******* 'US* been revealed. The Polish tJSLZo** that there was no barthat Poland should be ■■ET«i the Council if she signed the JS Afl the same, the French ''Eaftar Sir Austen Chamberlain s . Sghao speech, hailed him man Ski, word. What "word" do they W« tat There is an assumption in Sttewartiele. that with character£e integrity and honour the British SZjm Minister means to keep faitft Sanee. What "faith"! " Brittah opinion is uneasy, and susV& th»t ! its Foreign Minister comSed himself, not in definite terms but by uwlis&tiqn, either at Locarno « daring his last visit to Paris, and oerhans also in his conversations with jfoiolim at Rappallo. flare can be no doubt of the existJHF allot to neutralise the Geraan vofe and voice in.the Council of ST Letttie. Mussolini has made :t Zrthrt he at »▼ rate wa * ,n I ' l - t * S-MMttM that will be revealed in H 'SSe? the. Italian dictator .9 Zdau to aeoure the goodwill of ftmk B»« Tyrolean War whoop was \ »*« Wthnfft of temper. It was [ K»Tib«.for Paris, than.for Berlin. metam interview in a French f confirms the impression. He idauhiedly promised France to Poland into the Oeuudl. _ am how far was Sir Austen CbamW»ia ir> thia wmapuaeyP By nature k.M»jt 1 oMisjdrator, B% has none of tie mental qualities nor moral ■hoifaffiW. that constitute a good roaStoT AH the same, there is a famSt yukt he was somehow drawn kjii speeches give, the impression Mtmi itcri l of hut robe has been , atfpTlj »• trap, and that he can? „'!«*«*.«* without a tear, He wants io»A)oeftwa with a fw hand, He probata &» that ,once there no . will K? the others to otto Wbm teeth'that We closed '?oTw |W!tot6 and let him out with- . >«BiTimSmo hi ß honour. Rut wt nkWa caught fait w something (.- Sops with the Davits" , *;' % who sups with the Devil must mi\ i'S Sb." The late Joseph 6(lwbm'|in l was in the habit now and t'ltttin (tf bunting into the arena ot 'l ft witt politics with an indiscretion ' iP *B mote devastating because of ' 'ivOTWWesa. One of these rash \ rattan.'' thfct caused trouble was spoon'" attaca pn Russian 'Mmm «v the days ot the Caai Wife SMgt row feel exactlj like Trench diplomacy, _ The "ImeE gjavared him until he became 'ffljffiSd ihatthe adulation lavished ■'Wm Austen Ch&mberiain by French '•'lptalfl!i and journalists meant ,misWSf: Irenehmen are a fnjgal race, mi they s never waajte anything—least " 'liKjtf Wtery, .' JM'Who hwe dealings with French ' onght to be nreaentei with ■iSWlet edition of the fable of the "Hwifl U» mv. Ih;«ry bird who has itPnuft morsel of cheese in his beak flittered and fawned upon until he wops it into the mouth of the wily m seductive tempter who is lying in v>m {he bottom of the' tree, I saw tfflrwoeeju applied to President Wilson ' JMf H «et arrived in Paris. The - PWMness of his reception was cal*tofye& All the arts of ca]o!ery and v npdation were requisitioned . The «e«, the crowd, .the legislitors, all WQfU their part. It waj iqteuded to , ejOTWlm the Fou l Pojnts, under «'IJIQW? fjeod o( oijynomage, •i rta ?.° B to nis credit that ne rer 1 Jjrtsi aJI the hlandishmeAts of a otMe themselves more attractive than ; My nation on earth, When the failure <? th.«M> efforts became clear to the 'l85? "Orsay, orders woto given to .{g»n oft the rose water apd'play the ?!?• *t Wriol and hilge on the senai.■fw« and BrQ\j<J American President. 1. I Sfi 'tW» met with a ffWWf meajqw of Recess Aan . th« -.Jftrt. TheMdgeheads of %e Rhine some proejf of the effect of the Wilson for weeks, when he the atnjs* atoßped. ClePromised \\ shou.W cease-- ; 4t dith-qnite abruptly r ?r«och Snbtiety, 1 'I Austen, Chamberlain SWumbed- to the first application of airdqwatio methods, and on his I , Jy.nght intq the vulpine 'j'aw. His & er as L - "&fr shak «n -public , wnfldence m his judgment. He may h SL'T £ ~wn ■«• Perrfl on the . • , of the Ministerial rock- . whether he does so or not, in mm. Parliament will ipsist that next h *™»« «a caws he should. UQ fc j, 6 allow- ■ Srone *° P 6l "* pf - ' H* *W personal I 1 l fe TO a regard for '■ J» Austen Chamberlain's sWrjt?, upnghtness, and courage. 1 f ran kl v gn*b, this indiscretion. But Sere •■■ uv2 MWBBto cany

the parties can afford a break. M. Briand has trouble enough with his franc without giving it another scare. If there were an explosion at Geneva, the franc, might take fright and bolt. Then Germany cannot afford a public quarrel with "her neighbours. Her industries are not doing well, and she has 2,000,000 unemployed. Foreign credits are essential to her recovery. She cannot afford to fall into the current of deflation again, so she must cling to the Locarno Pact. As for Great Britain, the remarkable uprising of public opinion against the FrancoPolish cabal has made it impossible for the British delegates to vote for Poland. If Sir Austen Chamberlain were to do so, the Government would be swept out of office. Sharp Practice. All parties are in agreement that this country must not be mixed up m what is universally regarded as a jliscreditable exhibition of sharp practice. Let me say at once that no one suspeots Sir Austen Chamberlain of conscious participation. The idea is that he was taken in. There may be an effort to induce Germany to agree to Spain being elected as a permanent member of the Council. Sir Austen Chamberlain clearly favours this suggestion. To France this would not be an unacceptable settlement. Spain is in the same Moroccan pot-att-feu as France. They are simmering in it together. But Spain is more dependent on French military co-operation than France is on the military aid of Spain. France could make the position of Spain in Morocco untenable —and she is quite capable of doing so if Spain does not toe the line at the League Council. Angora and Chanak show what French statesmanship is capable of in its' treatment of friendly Powors who stand in its way. So if Spain becomes a permanent member of the League, she can be relied upon'by the French interest. She can be led by a bridle of Moroccan leather. There will also be the additional advantage that Poland can step intq the vacancy amongst the temporary members created by the promotion of Spain to permanency. But if Germany remains firm, and Sweden refuses to budge, the whole of thia miserable intrigue will fail. The British delegates will hardly dare to defy opinion at home to the extent of forcing this alternative plan throngh at this meeting. There will then be a welcome postponement of the manoeuvres to the autumn sittings. The Locarno spirit is for the time discredited. It has been mixed with a drenching of French polish and is no longer palatable. It serves to give brilliancy and colour to M. Briand's rhetoric, sadly tarnished in wrangles in Committee over vexatious taxes. But elsewhere it no longer intoxicates or exhilarates. It only nauseates. The Disarmament Conference must distil a fresh cordial and guard it against adulteration by diplomats. The Foreign Minister must sooner or later make np his mind that there can be no peace in Europe until he stands up to the Quai d'Orsay. That office represents the worst traditions of French Imperialism. It does not speak the mind "of modern France, whose people, desire peace above all things. As j know to my cost, the windows of that office are never opened, so its denizens breathe, the atmosphere that niled it hi the days of Louis the Fonrteenth and'of Napoleon. Hence all this constant irritation- !t is time someone broice a pane of glass in that stuffy and fevered edifice. (Copyright by United Press Association of America; reproduction in full or in part .prohibited.)