OCCUPYING GERMANY

Evening Star, Issue 17324, 12 April 1920, Page 4

OCCUPYING GERMANY

FRENCH SEND REINFORCE- : ME NTS. | BELGIAN TROOPS ADVANCE Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, i Austrian and N.Z. Cable Association, j, AMSTERDAM, April 9. • | The 'Berliner Tagoblatt' states■ that I there have been further arrivals of French • | troops, in the occupied zone. Additional troops crossed the Rhine at various points ; into the neutral zone. Troops, accompanied by tanks, also left Strassburg in an eastern- direction. PARIS. April 8. "A German patrol near Neiderwollstadt, on encountering a French patrol, exchanged shots, and a. German officer was wounded. BRUSSELS, April 9. The King presided at a council of Ministers. It was decided, out x>f sympathy i with France, to place a division at ihe I disposal of -the- French commander in the Ruhr district. FRANKFORT SHOOTINGS. Australian and Ts.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. PARIS. April 8. The 'Chicago Tribune's' correspondent, at Frankfort reports that he saw seven bodies in the street—four men, two : women, and one boy—all of whom had been lulled by machine guns. Algerian . and Moroccan sharpshooters posted en the < sidewalk fired machine'guns inta. a crowd of several hundreds at a distance of several hundred yards. The crowd scattered, the incident being closed in three minutes. THE RED REVOLT. i; Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and | Reuter. y PARIS, April 8. The ' Chicago Tribune's' correspondent j at Essen had an interview with General . Otto Von Bddenseipen, the Red commander, who said : " It is foolish to call us Bolsheviks and ! terrorists, and claim that we broke the ■ treaty. Our men were disbanding, when tho Reichswehr troops turned their artil- : lory on us. We protested to General Yon Wetter, who said he did not know of the .attack. We are the same armed working , men who defeated Dr Kapp, and we will continue to fight the monarchists. We . have proof that the militarists, under Herr ] Noske, have a secret army of 800,000 men. j We know that the militarists have planned j to control the Government and retain Hen' Noske to build up the monarchy, which is | prepared to overrun France and instigate . a French revolution within two years, \ assuring themselves that England and , ! America will not participate. We lost be- j I cause we childishly trusted the Govem--1 ment'a pledges, but we will continue tho ■ war on militarism till the end.. j i ANGLO-FRENCH FRICTION. ] | BRITAIN'S NOTE OF PROTEST. 1 " SPOILING PEACE CONFERENCE'S > WORK." Imperial News Service. LONDON, April 9. An authoritive statement on the AngloFrench situation points out that any com- ' munications of the British official views ' as regards tho despatch of ■ French troops to the neutral zone was made primarily to ' prevent any possible damage to the Anglo- ' French Alliance, on which the hope" of s tho world is centred, and certainly not ! with tho purpose of exciting public ' opinion in this or any other country. Tho fundamental idea of the British ! Ministers is that any alliance would i rapidly dissolve if individual members of : that alliance acted, on their own initiative in important matters without the assent of the other members. It does not servo the cause of any alliance to gloss over or ignore the seriousness of any ally acting militarily on its own iniativc against the opinion of its ally. The British are ' equally concerned in securing the execu- ' tion of the Peace Treaty with any other ! signatories, but they are of opinion that i it will only weaken the authority of the Allies if violent, action is taken without ' some imimpreachable reason. It is held that tho treaty in this instance did not contemplate a situation such as that which aas now arisen. 'The British view is that in the neutral zone, in the event of serious social disorder, either the Allies must take the responsibility for restoring order or allow the German Government to assume tho responsibility, subject to suitable guarantees. The treaty never contsni- . plated making a 50-mile zone of perpetual disorder, wherein neither the -Vllics ' nor Germany would be able to ' authority. Tho situation to-day, according to the : British view, is one for pnlh-' e action against disorder, and it is felt that it is*far ' better that that should be ooiilted out now : and a clear understanding reached. The !! British, equally with the French, an* | ready to insist on the execution of the I' treaty if there is any hesitation on t'i© I' part of the Germans in fulfilling their i' guarantee to evacuate the neutral zone : at tno appointed time, and Britain was I quite willing to agree to anv necessary action if this agreed period' should be passed. The French Government were ' tuily informed of this view inoro than I' once before their troops were sent Faith ;n the Entente and friendliness for tho ■ hj rendi people are in no war diminished !' Rr.ii tho announcement that- France acted ; on her own initiative, and against the ad- ] vice of tho Allies, is merely a statement : ot faco necessary to make it clear that it • is impossible for the Allies as a whole to : accept a position that thov can 'be com- i mitted to bv the independent action of < any one ally. and. it is necessary to ' strengthen alliance by ensuring f'ntiiTe 1 solidarity. ° " , It is "added that the views ' : are not those of any individual "British 1 Minister, but of the whole Cabinat. ' The Times.' Thti j . that at Thursdays Cabinet meeting some Ministers urged that the wording of the British 1 JNoi-o to France, especially its conclusion, 1 should be morhfied so as to render it le4 < ofiensivo. Mr Lloyd George, however, ' insisted on the harsher wordino-. nJl d i carried his point. The Note consists of four typewritten < foolscap sheets, and state* that M. Mil- " lcrand and his colleagues had given'theii impression that Franco would abstain from . single-handed action. The Note adds that ; trance is expected not to act a train on ,; her ovrr'initiative otherwise the work | nL f ?G f e 4 Co "f OTa "ce will bo futile, < and it instructs the Ambassador to abAmE T atte^ iD f «» conference- of Ambassadors until assured that France All:- m 6 " a conK ' rt FRANCE'S, REPLY. LOGICAL ANF DIGNIFIED. Imperial News Service. k Tfc. it i, LONDON, April 10. Jl French reply to the British Note atoms the unquestionable lovalty of' France's attitude. The Government con- ; ' stantly informed the Ai!ie, of their policy. I I lie repiy says the policv of the French ''■ ' Government was always opposed to the ' entry of supplementary Geiman troons into the Ruhr Basin, which was only per- ; missible on condition of the military occu- ' pation of -Frankfort "and Darmstadt. It i i-notified the Allies on April 3 that Marshal i : 1 Foch was studying unavoidable military! measures. I The reply points out that the sole pres- j : ent question is the violation of one of the : most ■■solemn clauses in the treaty. The i German Government themselves recognise j the necessity of obtaining beforehand"'for- : ward authorisation for and breach of Arti- I cle 43, and the right of the French Government to demand a territorial guaTa-n- '. tee in exchange for a breach. The reply asks how the French Government could be satisfied with a German jjromise to withdraw the Reichswehr im- :

[ mediately order was restored, seeing that the Allies had not received the satisfac tion -stipulated in the treaty for the reparation of war damages, the surrender of war criminals, the delivery of Coal, and tho disarmament of the army. It asks I whether tho British Government calculated the whole danger of those successive systematic violations, and aske ivhen Britain thinks it ought to stop in granting concessions. It declares that France was oom.pelled to say "Enough." but Ehe.asks nothing better than that she can say so with all her Allies. x The French Government are not less •convinced than the British of the essential necessity 'of maintaining allied unity for the enforcement of the German Treaty, and consider this to be an intimate concern of France and Britain, and also indispensable for equitably settling the vast problems ' now confronting the world in Russia, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and throughout the whole of Ishim. The reply concludes by assuring Britain that the French Government, for all these considerations, are entirely disposed to make sure before acting general assent in all interallied nuestions involved in the execution of the treaty, LLOYD GEORGE BLAMED. DISGUST dTfRANCE. . PARIS, April 10. Two meetings of "the French Cabinet were held to-day to consider the British protest against Franco's action. Britain's Note came like a bombshell, a.nd caused stupefaction. ' The French newspapers make bitter comment, singling out Mr Lloyd George for special blame, and asserting that no imposed his views on -the British Cabinet. April 9. Britain's opposition to the French occupation of the right bank of thej Rhine has caused consternation I The newspapers compare the British attitude with faithful Belgium. 'Le Matin' suggests -that Britain conferred with Italy and America, which is regrettable. 'Le Matin' seeks to modify the tension by a suggestion that Britain does not seek to represent Germany as innocent, but merely differs over the methods to be adopted. M. " Portinax," writing in the ' Echo de Paris,' denounces Mr Lloyd George as a politician entirely lacking in judgment, but the French rely on the good sense of friends across the Channel to bring Mr i Lloyd George to heel and force upon him j an interpretation of the Anglo-French Alliance from which he should never have departed. 'Le Temps,' dispassionately reviewing the situation, points out that Britain was kept fully informed of France's determination to protect herself from the German menace. A prominent French writer declares that Mr Lloyd George struck the Entente a blow from which it will have difficulty in recovering. He hopes that British public opinion will rectify the British Government's mistake. 'Le Journal des Debats' asks: "Does Mr Lloyd George realise that he is losing the prestige and authority which he won by his energy during the war?" Mr Lloyd George, it adds, has now repudiated his title to posterity's gratitude. Imperial News Service. LONDON, April 10. Mr Lloyd George will leave London on Saturday for San Remo (South of France watering place). The ' Echo de Paris' calls attention to the fact that Mr Lloyd George is going by sea rather than pass through France. The ' Daily Chronicle's ' diplomatic -correspondent says the fact that Mr Lloyd George is taking a sea trip is a welcome sign that a full understanding is now assured, iTnot already established in every detail. The correspondent adds that every re- j sponsible British statesman hopes that a passing difl'erenco between two proud democracies will net bo allowed to obscure their fundamental cordial unity. : THE OUTSIDER. WASHINGTON. April 9. ' The United States Government have decided definitely not to participate in the conversations between the Allies and France with reference to the occupation of the German cities. Ambassador Wallace will content himself with watching the proceedings. 4 AN OLD DOG ' FOR A HARD ROAD. FRANCE TEACHES ENGLAND. LONDON, April 10. (Received April 12, at 11 a.m.) M. Millerand's reply to the British Note lays stress en the fact that the occupation of Frankfort: -was an exceptional action, due entirely to Germany's continued violation of the Peace Treaty. It does not in the least affect France's desire to be loyal to tho Allies. There can be no question of evacuating Frankfort till Germany recognises the conditions, of which she has been informed on several occasions. Tho French Government eagerly desire to commence conversations with Great Britain immediately respecting the general execution of the Peace Treaty by Germany. PARIS, April 10. M. Millerand, interviewed, said: " France's position is absolutely simple. We were in the presence of serious German violations of the Peace Treaty, the Inst of which violations affects precisely those articles of the treaty which wero'covcrcd by the Anglo-French-American .Agreement, under which England and America are pledged to come to our assistance. Our information was absoiuteiv clear and authoritative—i.e., that sending German troops into tho Ruhr district was not necessary in the interest of German public order. They are being sent there simply because it means another infraction of the treaty. Wo are living next door to Germany. Belgium lias taken up an identical position with France, because she is in the same dangerous position." ALWAYS GERMANY'S GAME: SOW DISSENSION ALLIES. - , LONDON, April 10. Germany has addressed a Note -to France pointing out that a number of Germans have been killed or wounded in the newlv occupied territory.* The Note adds": "Germany lipids France responsible for all damage suffered." The 'Daily Express's' Paris correspondent states that the French reply to* tho British protest will take tho form of an urgent, request that Britain shall reconsider or modify her attitude. The reply maintains France's right to take direct action. The German newspapers are jubilant over-the Anglo-French misunderstanding.