VIGILANCE IN FRANCE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 36, 14 February 1929, Page 11

VIGILANCE IN FRANCE

FORMIDABLE CRUISERS

FEAR OF CONSEQUENCES

United Press Association—Bj Electric Tele-

erapli—Copyrisht. "Times" Cables.

(Received 14th February, 8 a.m.)

LONDON, 13th February

"Tho Times" correspondent at Paris states that tho French Ministry of Marine is watching with intense interest and no little anxiety tho German Government's naval plans, as revealed by the new cruiser, of which details have been published. It is the first of four of the same class. Tho Eeichswehr Minister, Herr Groener, recently indicated that these vessels were designed to secure Germany's preponderance in the Baltic, but what the French authorties are asking is if they arc really designed to control tho Baltic, why should they be so superior to the necessities of that task?

The French experts point out that, though displacing only 10,000 tons, the new German cruisers will be enormously superior in gunpower and protection to the conventional typo of 10,000 tonner, which they could blow out of the water with immunity to themselves, while the radius of action of the German ships would enable long operational periods in the Mediterranean and farther afield. Wherever they appear, they will enjoy a local superiority against any force which does not include a squadron of super-dreadnoughts.

The French view is that, if Germany thus uses her Treaty rights to replace her six obsolete battleships, competition in naval building is inevitable, unless limitation can be secured by agreement. The German Government will assume a heavy responsibility if it starts a new armaments race.