Decks Cleared

A most brutally frank and clarifying discussion of the continued French occupation of part of the German Rhineland* took place, last week, at long range, between Foreign Minister Dr. Gustav Stresemann, addressing the Reichstag in smashing style, and Foreign Minister Aristide Briand of France, replying still more vigorously before Le Senat, in Paris.

As does not often happen, the meaning of both august orators appeared most clearly and concisely from their actual words. So vociferously was each statesman cheered by his own parliamentary audience, without regard to party, that it could be truly said: "The people of Germany are debating with the people of France." Excerpts: Stresemann: "Before all else we Germans demand the evacuation of the Rhineland. . . . The Locarno agreement assures peace between Germany and France. Both nations obligate themselves through this agreement to forego all aggressive action against each other. Whosoever asks for more security than that doubts the pledged word and the signed treaty.

"In addition to the renunciation of aggression between Germany and France, there is the English guarantee. Are the pledged word and power of England nothing to those who in France demand stronger security? Do they doubt the ability of England together with France, to fight Germany's present-day army? "It is illogical to have a Locarno treaty and at the same time see the Rhineland occupied. The Locarno agreement was meant to be the beginning, not the end, of the new era of conciliation." Briand (apostrophizing Stresemann with blazing frankness): "Locarno gives us all the security on the Rhine we need, but ... if you Germans want us out [of the Rhineland] sooner than 1935 you will hurry along with the commercialization of your reparation debt and the fulfillment of all disarmament conditions, then we will be only too pleased to go. . . ." ". . . When he [Dr. Stresemann] takes a walk in the olive garden of Locarno he has the habit of stretching out his hand to receive rather than to give." Significance. At one stroke the problem of the Occupied Rhineland has been officially removed by the occupying Power from the plane of military security to that of financial security.

With hypocrisy thus cleared away, the opportunity is indicated for Germany to buy early evacuation of the Rhineland.

French hopes that she will offer to do so were voiced, last week, by M. Briand: "This problem of peace should be linked up with that of reparations, and I hope that the year 1928 will not close without a settlement of the grave question as a whole." Expression of such "hopes" amounts to giving notice that the whole structure of interallied debts and German reparations must shortly be readjusted. That is the view of Agent General of Reparations Seymour Parker Gilbert, who has recently conveyed his conclusions to the Cabinets at Washington, London, Paris and Berlin (TIME, Dec. 26) by personal visits to those governments.

That the precipitation of events will be discreet and orderly was to be inferred from the fact that Dr. Stresemann an nounced, last week, his intention of going immediately to Cannes, French Riviera, "on a long vacation to restore my health." Although the good Herr Doktor has undoubtedly suffered from influenza of late (TIME, Jan. 30), he is apt to negotiate as well as recuperate in France.

*Only the First Rhineland Occupied Zone (Cologne) has been evacuated (TIME, Feb. 15, 1926). According to the Treaty of Versailles the Second Zone (Coblenz) and the Third (Mayence) are to be evacuated on Jan. 1, 1930 and 1935 respectively.