Alliance With Soviets

Foreign Minister Stresemann of the Reich, known because of his alert opportunism as "the Lloyd George of Germany," was lauded to the skies by German journals of every party last week when he made public the text of the Russo-German Neutrality Treaty which he and Foreign Minister Tchitcherin of the Soviet Union (TIME, Oct. 12) have been quietly preparing, by secret negotiation, for some months.

Text. The exceedingly short treaty is drawn to cover a period of five years and consists chiefly of three articles:

I. The basis of relations between Germany and the Soviet Union remains the Treaty of Rapallo.* The German Government and Government of the Soviet Union will remain in friendly contact with one another . . .

II. Should one of the contracting parties, despite its peaceful demeanor, be attacked by a third power or by several other powers, the other contracting party shall preserve neutrality . . .

III. Should a coalition among other powers ... be organized among other powers imposing an economic boycott against one of the contracting parties, the other contracting party will not participate in such coalition.

Appendix. A series of covering notes between the contracting parties was attached as an appendix having the same validity as the treaty itself. Therein Germany affirms that: 1) She will not take part in any punitive action by the League of Nations against Russia, unless she (Germany) deems Russia indisputably guilty of aggression. 2) The German Government is convinced that Germany's membership in the League offers no obstacle to a friendly development of Russo-German relations.

"Bridge" or "Rope"? The treaty may become either a bridge over which Soviet Russia will pass into contact with other "capitalistic" nations, or a rope by which the Soviets may tug Germany out of friendly contact with the west. Frenchmen were generally anxious about and critical of the new instrument last week. Most League officials seemed not to share the French view that it will tend to keep Germany out of the League.

It was rumored during the week that a Russo-Lithuanian-German pact is being secretly negotiated.

At Prague, Senator Brabec, leader of the Czechoslovakian National Democratic party, advocated the recognition of Soviet Russia by Czechoslovakia, a policy which he has hitherto bitterly opposed.

*On April 10, 1922, Lloyd George succeeded in assembling the representatives of the Allied Powers at Genoa, there to dictate to the Foreign Ministers of Russia (Tchitcherin) and Germany (Rathenau), (subsequently assassinated) the terms of a general European economic peace. On April 17 Tchitcherin and Rathenau, realizing that they would get only, harsh terms from the Allies, slipped off to Rapallo and signed a mutual economic agreement on a "most favored nation" basis. When the Treaty of Rapallo was announced at Genoa, it created such consternation that that conference subsequently dispersed without notable accomplishment. This Treaty must be carefully distinguished from the Italo-Jugoslav Treaty of Rapallo (1920) in settlement of the frontier between those nations.