Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, NOV. 23, 1929 THE ALLIANCE IDEA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17116, 23 November 1929, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, NOV. 23, 1929 THE ALLIANCE IDEA

Wliat we had to say the other day in these columns regarding wliat. may he called the prevalent obsession amongst European statesmen by the idea of alliances, is being borne out by the inauguration of a movement that could never have been expected, namely, the creation of an alliance between France and Germany. Nothing definite has'been accomplished, but the idea is in the air. It is related to a misunderstanding regarding the true nature of the. negotiation amt conversations .which have taken place between the British Premier and the American President. Europe, it would seem, fears an Anglo-American alliance as the result of the personal contact, of these two men whose ideals arc so similar, and it is felt by the two most powerful countries on the Continent that something must be done to meet the strong threat which such an alliance would constitute against the interests of the rest # of the world. Whatever may be the views of European statesmen with reference to British policy, their harboring of the idea of an Anglo-F.y. alliance at the very least argues a woeful misunderstanding of American mentality. Yet the nationalist parties in France and Germany have been very vocal recently in their endeavor to construct an alliance between those two countries. The idea is that such an alliance should be based on a pooling of militarv forces, just as the imaginary A agio-IBS. alliance is . to be based on the pooling of naval resources. Nothing has happened in recent times that makes it more evident that the world has yet a long way to go before, tho real peace-mind can be created and before the hesitations, fears, and suspicions of (lie war-miml can be dissipated. It is recorded that under the scheme expounded by Herr Kechberg, one of the large industrialists of Germany who has been instrumental in framing economic relationships ns between his own country and France, it is proposed that Franco will maintain an army of half a million men, while

Germany will be allowed to increase the existing army of 100,000 men as laid down in the Treaty of Versailles, to three times its present size. It is also suggested that there should be a Franco-Gentian headquarters staff to arrange the necessary military plans. All this is very amazing, amt shows the length to which international tears may go. It. is almost in conceivable that France and Germany, of all countries in the .world, should give consideration for a moment to any kind of reciprocity, and yet there it is. We arc even told that Belgium would be invited to join the combi nation and that Boland .would. be asked to participate. The reader blinks at. the suggestion being offered to Boland, but the inducement held out is that unless that country enters into an agreement, with Germany, it will be llouted on either side by potential enemies— i.e., by Germany to the west and by Russia to .the east. Germany and Boland together, it is hinted, could defy their gigantic eastern neighbor. Germany, oL' course, does not make such proposals without, indicating the fact that a price must be paid for their adoption. Bart of that price would be the absolute obliteration- of all references to war guilt. There are even suggestions vaguely worded regarding the restoration of German colonies. The Danzig corridor, which divides Germany in two, would be ceded to that country; Boland would be guaranteed a right of way in perpetuity along this route, and Danzig itself would become a German city. There are no territorial changes suggested in Upper .Silesia, but economic arrangements would be made whereby German and Bolisli industrialists would share in any profits accruing from that area. It. is not to lie doubted at all that actual negotiations have taken place on the Continent towards the ends indicated. German military and political officials have actually been in touch with similar officials in France, and on their part French generals and • politicians have visited Berlin and have discussed the plan with German officials. It is no rumor. Black and white suggestions have been made by both parties, and numbers of those who have participated in the discussions are high up in the counsels of their respective countries. It is true only that nothing of .an official nature lias been done; but the .means arc there, ready made. One may hope, but cannot guarantee: that the old idea of a militaristic combine will be shelved before anything authoritative is done. It is easy to see that behind the idea is the old Imperialistic notion of one mighty nation which would dominate Europe. The sponsors of the scheme, indeed, have made no secret of the fact that their ultimate end and aim is to create such an “Empire of the West. ’’ as that over which Cliarloniagne ruled; and it must be admitted that were France and Germany combined —i.e., if one can conceive of the lion lying down with the lamb, or of age-long enemies living in brotherly concord — the combination would certainly weild extraordinary power. Whether such power, once attained, would be rightly exercised for the good of mankind as a whole, is entirely another question. Further, it may be questioned whether, ever again in the history of the world, can purely militaristic agreements prove efficacious to bring anything that is worth while into being. The world is moving away from such ideas. Internationalism is one thing, and the consciousness that two mailed fists are stronger than onc'is another; and they cannot be reconciled. Everything turns back to the question of right motives. The Anglo-American discussions have been carried on—and it is or ought to be admitted by all —in a spirit of goodwill which has sought that which is best for humanity at large. Tlftt there should be the closest friendly co-operation between France -and Germany, no one can deny, but that it. should take the form of an armed combine, no one will desire who wishes the good of Ins fellow men and the peace of the world. Wo all know to what end armed alliances lead: and flic League of Nations has already ample machinery for the expression ot the pacifist intentions of any nation or group of nations. It would seem after all that the English-speaking peoples alone have grasped the essence of the modern world’s need by supplanting the old-time military alliances bv the broader spirit of good-will. They cannot be held responsible if other nations choose to misunderstand and to revert to practices whose only logical outcome is a war of aggression.