Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1931. GERMANY AND THE YOUNG PLAN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 29, 5 January 1931, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1931. GERMANY AND THE YOUNG PLAN.

President Hindenburg has broken new ground in his New Year message in demanding the revision of the Young Plan which, lie says, “is still casting a dark shadow over Germany’s future.” The reason surely can be traced to the rise of Fascism in Germany and to the extraordinary success of the party at the recent general election. The Fascists are violently opposed to the Versailles Peace Treaty and, during the election campaign, won a large measure of support by their avowed policy of repudiation of the tributes Germany is called upon to pay under the A r oung- Plan. The peculiar position of the parties in the Reichstag may make it impossible for the moderate element.to hold the reins of office for any length of time, and there are grounds for the belief that the President is desirous of placating as much as possible the Fascists and their fiery leader, Adolph Hitler. Herein, no doubt, lies the reason for his “demand for the revision of the Young Plan,” which, virtually scrapping the Dawes Plan, provided that Germany should pay certain annuities as reparations for a period of years, followed by annuities for a lesser period covering the war debts only. There has been open hostility in Germany to the terms of the Peace Treaty since it was signed, and the feelings of opponents of the Treaty found expression in a series of murders within a few years, one writer giving the estimated number of deaths among Liberal or the Left groups as 354. Into this turmoil came Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers’ which has continued to grow in numbers and strength. In the election of May, 1924, it polled nearly 2,000,009 votes and won thirtytwo seats in the Reichstag. In the December elections the party lost a little ground, but at the polls a few months a‘go it received more than 0,000,000 votes out of 35,000,000 polled, increasing its representation in the Reichstag from 12 seats to 117. The main factor of this outstanding success is that the Hitlerites are, according to an overseas publicist, a party of protest who made seductive promises to remedy Germany’s position under the Treaty and Young Plan if elected to power. They have drawn strength from that general feeling all over Europe that Parliamentary democracy is a failure, and point to the success of the Mussolini Dictatorship. The position in Germany has given rise to serious concern in France and other of Germany’s neighbours, but the

writer referred to finds liope for the future in the belief that, as the National Socialists, or Fascists, gain in numerical strength they will be rent by internal dissensions as was the case with the Hugenberg Party. If they accepted a jiosition of responsibility, they would also become more moderate as is the case with Radicals who attain office. Though President Hindenburg has declared his support for the Bruening coalition in the Reichstag, his New Year message may be accepted as a straw indicating the current of feeling in Germany which is afflicted with the same economic ills as other parts of the world. Notwithstanding, should she be allowed to refuse to make her payments under the Young Plan ? The British taxpayers have too long borne the burden for Germany’s crime against mankind, and any remission or evasion of the annuities would react against Britain rather than against France, for example. The stand taken by Mr Snowden on behalf of Britain when the YoungPlan was being framed is still well.remembered. Such firmness is necessary to-day. Even postponement should not be permitted. As it is the Fascists are not unlikely to cause trouble by seizing upon the Presidential message as partial support for their policy.