SAAR A BATTLEGROUND

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1934, Page 7

SAAR A BATTLEGROUND

LIKE A “NO MAN’S LAND” BITTERNESS OF CONFLICT FORCES OF SUGGESTION FEAR, MALICE AND GREED By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. London, Oct 14. “The Saar is a ‘no man’s land’ battleground,” says the Saarbrucken correspondent of the British United Press. “The conflict is not less embittered be- 1 cause it is waged with spiritual weapons, including all the forces of suggestion such as fear, malice and greed. “Jacob Pirro, the Germ'an leader, is essentially a man of action, an organiser and an orator. He claims 480,000 adherents, of whom 80,000 are German trade unionists. The latter were largely influenced by Peter Kieffer, who is a Catholic and admits that he threw in his lot with the German Front only after a long debate. It is now decided that unless the Saar returns to Germany on January 13 (when the plebiscite will be held) it v(fll open a sore. “The trouble with the anti-German faction is that it lacks a single dynamic leader and an influential Press, while its anti-German policy is necessarily vague. It is not even known whether an anti-German vote in favour of maintaining the status quo (control by a League of Nations commission) will decide the issue for all time or whether a further vote will be taken later. “The most capable leader of the status quo policy is Herr Hoffman, editor of the Neue Saar Post. He believes that 30 per cent, of the voters favour return to Germany, 30 per cent, favour the status quo and 40 per cent, ere still undecided.”