GERMANY AND THE RUHR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18298, 15 January 1923, Page 6

GERMANY AND THE RUHR.

The German protests against the occupation ■"'.'. of the Ruhr : lack convincing cogency, whatever may quite reasonably be '.urged against the unwisdom of France in taking this particular action. Germany has no good ground*for objecting that the action is: a breach of the Versailles Treaty. The rights and wrongs of the action of France may be a grave concern ;to her Allies; But for Germany to take high ground, and make the occupation of the Ruhr an excuse for denying obligations . incurred by breaking Europe's peace, trampling over Belgium, devastating Northern France, plunging the whole world into grief, , and finally by buying escape from other punishment with a covenant to make reparation, is totally unwarranted. ; The reparation, it must be insisted, is due as ..the solemn penalty .imposed by a great tribunal: and Germany, at the mercy of an outraged world/agreed to the fine inflicted, knowing that an early application of it- would be to ; the restoration of areas ruthlessly injured. The action of France cannot vitiate that claim oh Germany. It remains an obligation to France. Besides, is France the only signatory to the • Treaty with whom Germany has to deal? The rights of* those others ;to have >. the whole engagement of Germany on. their own behalf and that of France, are not destroyed by the action v-»f France.' The Treaty abides as the basis of the ' present: understanding ■ in Europe. • Its provisions may heed review '• . but there is a constitutional way of achieving that. To assert that the action of France absolves Germany from; payment is to -'findin that action * a slender excuse for a dishonourable denial of a responsibility: that responsibility can be discharged only : by a full meeting of it or its abrogation by all parties to its acceptance. ; Until either of these events has happened, Germany's duty is -to: abide: by the obligation. As for protests against the method of the; French- action, Germany is surely very forgetful. It is , not long since Germany set out to '-'stagger -humanity" by the cruelly rathless occupation of Belgium and Northern ;>■; France-— succeeded. Whatever, may be said of the action of France; it should not be said by the arch-criminal of the grtsat wife