RHINE BARRIER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 82, 7 April 1919, Page 4

RHINE BARRIER

COMMON BULWARK OP THE

ALLIFb.

Tiie declaration by Marshal Foch to the American correspondents that the Germans nuis' 1 in future. years be he>d on the Rhine, represents one demand that the French will make in any plans , for a League of Nations, wrote _ Mr E. j L, .Tames to the New York Times in; December. j What Marshal Foch said may bo con- i , struod to mean that if ever in. the fu*; tore Germany decides t'o make a move’ m the direction of France she must start from behind the Rhine, which means, of course, that* she could not again attack Trance overnight, and that if she moved toward France the first bat'les, at least, would take place on German soil, between the Rhine and tlie French boundary. Marshal Foch said that the Allies should ensure, must ensure, that the German military power must remain behind tho Rhine. t “H is on the Rhine that we muse halt, the Germans.” he said. meaning

that the Allies should be able to know that tha was being done. This, it is stated, links up with the League of .Nations in this wiy; It is not mean that France should annex the Rhine provinces up to the Rhine. This territory could still remain an integral part of Germany. Rut those who agree with the Marshal assort that if ■ the League of Nations plan •is adopted | there will he a necessity for an inter--1 national police, and that ;t would be I the duty of the international police or jot some other League of Nations' authority to see that all the decuons of i the Peace Conference shomd be carjricd out, including any crc'sion that Germany must keep all military mach mery behind the barrier of the Rhine River. , Furthermore, it would be held that if the peace settlement imposed conditions upon any other nation it would be as permissible for the international authorities to examine into allegations of disobedience as it, would be to inspect German activities along the Rhine. It is suggested that some of the ways in which Marshal Foch’s idea would be enforced would be to forbid Germany to have fortifications along the Rhino, or any guns, ammunition, or other military, supplies west of the Rhine, or maintain any military establishments in that territory. It is also advocated that no soldiers for tile German Army should be raised from this region.^ There are French statesmen who advocate the annexation of German territory up to the Rhine, and others who would have a neutral State formed there. But from those close to the Mac shal it is gathered that he would have his idea enforced through a League of Nations, providing a league was formed with power to enforce international regulations. Otherwise France would’ seek to find some other way to insure her safety. ‘ ? Speaking as commander of all the Allied forces, Marshal Foch spoke per-haps-as more than a Frenchman. That portion of his statement which referred to the Rhine was as follows: — ; “The Rhine is the natural barrier which will protect civilisation. The Germans must be stopped on the Rhine; and it is by the use of the Rhine that We can prevent them from being in a position to renew the attack pf 1914. The : Rhine is the common bulwark of all the Allies, of all those who have joined to save civilisation; the Rhine is the guarantee pf peace _ for all the peoples who have shed their blood for he' cause of liberty. Then let us keep ymteh on the Rhine. ( “We have no intention of attacking Germany and beginning the war again. Democracies such as ours never attack; they ask nothing but to live in' peace and develop peacefully. But who can say that Germany—whose ideas of democracy are recent, and perhaps quite superficial—will not rise rapidly from, her defeat, and in a very few years will, not try a second time to destroy us? \ “Russia will be incapacitated for a i long time, England is on the other' side of the Channel. America is far awHy. France should be in a position to safeguard the general interests of, humanity. It can be done easily on j the - Rhine. It is there that measures ) should be Taken to prevent the pos- ; sibility of disastrous surprises in future.”