FRANCE ADVANCES ALONE

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 83, 8 April 1920, Page 4

FRANCE ADVANCES ALONE

T,he Red rising in the German neutyal zone—the real seriousness of which cannot be estimated' at this distance, because of the existence of camouflaging interests —has led, as expected, to a possible .division among the Allies, because of . the independent military action of France, who, refusing to accept the German army's intervention as a police measure, has replied with a counter-intervention. If, as has been suspected, the German Government's motive" is wholly or partly to force one of the Allies into independent action on ,the Shine, leading to the break-up of Allied unity, then the first part of the plan appears to have- succeeded; though fo'ifcttrtatßly there ie good reason to beliave that the Allied; Gr»¥erjiusesit§ jriJl

not allow their indispensable cohesion, on whioh the world's peace depends, to be broken by anything that has happened; or is likely to happen, in the neutral zone. Quite possibly some sections of the American press will talk heatedly, but there is still a gap between 'French independent action and the loss of American co-operation, and a still bigger gap between the Millerand policy and the destruction of the Alliance. If it became a choice between Millerand and the Alliance—a contingency that diplomacy will probably avoid—not the Alliance, but Millerand, would go. Nevertheless, the French advance, made without the British and American armies, is a grave event. If a French d'Annunzio were to arise, the Adriatic situation would be reproduced, with much greater seriousness, in Germany Already the French advance tends to bring Italy and France closer together, and to harden the hearts of the people behind the (Fiume coup.