The Wanganui Chronicle WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1926. THE ALLIED OCCUPATION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19504, 3 February 1926, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1926. THE ALLIED OCCUPATION

The withdrawal of the army of occupation from Cologne has been carried out in accordance with the Allies’ promise. They began to remove the troops on the day the Locarno Pact was signed, December 1, and at midnight on January 31 the Germans were able to celebrate the release of their city. Their rejoicing is natural, but most people understand that they could have held their celebrations earlier if they had had the will to do so. AII they had to do was to convince the Allies that they were fully determined to honour the obligations imposed upon them by the Treaty of Versailles.

Under the terms of the Treaty three regions in Rhineland, Cologne, Coblenz and Mainz, were occupied, all three being strategic bridgeheads. The first area, Cologne, was to be held for five years, the second for ten, and the third for fifteen. In this way there was provided a means of gradual relaxation of the Allies’ hold on Germany. As the whole cost of the army of occupation was to be borne by Germany, and to be paid in gold marks, the occupation imposed a burden not lightly to be shirked. It could not be evaded by Germany’s mere relinquishing of the occupied territory, had such a course been acceptable to the German people.

The placing in the Rhineland of Allied troops under arms was primarily a military precaution, designed to counter any reluctance on Germany’s part to carry out her covenant to disarm. But the occupation, being justly a charge on Germany, was also a financial exaction. The longer she evaded her obligations, the longer the. bill she would have eventually to foot. The truth of this has not been lost on Germany, and her repeated protest? against the protracted occupation have been marked by complaints of economic and financial loss entailed through it. There is no doubt that this aspect of the matter has played a large part in bringing Germany at length to the point of giving satisfactory assurances of a peaceable intent, and the occupation has thus been proved both necessary and justifiable. Although the occupation of Cologne lasted seven years instead of five, the fault was entirely Germany’s. The Allies had to postpone the withdrawal because she did not carry out her undertakings. Of late, however, Germany has shown the necessary change of heart, and it is now suggested that the Allies are willing to grant concessions, one of the London newspapers stating that France and Britain have agreed to reduce the number of troops in the regions which are still occupied. The Ambassadors’ Conference recently indicated that if conditions remained satisfactory theretfmight be considerable, modifications of the occupation of Coblenz and Mainz. It is for Germany herself to show that she is entitled to generous treatment.