Show Claim German Vets Organization Gives the Lie to Disarmament By MILTON BRONNER NEA Service Writer LONDON Jan 29 When 29 When the Gencva Geneva Gen Gen- eva disarmament conference is held in February the French delegates will wm have in theIr portfolios ammunition which thich they think will almost completely com corn close the mouths of the German Ger Ger- man delegates when they begin to toI I talk about their complete I ment under the thc Versailles treaty and the demand that France and the rest do the same I The French point out that Germany Ger Ger- many has one of the greatest anc and anet most efficient commercial flying sere ser vices in the world This has given It an army of at trained pilots and scores of ot wonderful flying fields and air air- The French say that these commercial airplanes can quickly be converted into mill military tary airplanes As to the army they have all along claimed that In addition to the lOa men allowed by treaty to the German German Ger Jer man army the armed forces of the land could quickly be enlarged by reason of the formidable Steel Helm organization largely made up of war veterans privates and officers alike aUke Germany has always repelled both charges It has denied that the Steel Helm is anything but a private organization or of veterans A glimpse at two recent court cas cases s Is therefore Illuminating The Germans of ot eastern Germany have always feared that in case of trouble their country would be invaded on that side by the large Polish standing army The people of at eastern Germany Germany Ger Ger- many therefore got ot considerable comfort when last June Steel Helm men held a gigantic rally and drill at Breslau Well just the other day a peasant farm hand of Polish nationality named Anton was hauled before before be be- fore Core the Breslau high court and tried behind closed doors for tor espionage on the Steel Helm rally The charge against him was that he conveyed information information in in- formation about the thc rally to Poland Apparently there was vas nothing about the rally to hide Many newspaper reporters were present and sent stories about the affair The army of ot marching drilling men was there for Cor all to see The Breslau high court must have been confronted by this problem Either the Steel Helm is a strictly private organization with no military alms aims as the German Gennan authorities claim and as they set forth in their reply to Polands Poland's protest or else the government lied and the Steel Helm was really part of th the national defense force If It the first proposition was true could not possibly come under charges of at espionage A person person per per- son cant can't be convicted of spying upon a private organization But the court convicted and sentenced him to six months' months Imprisonment From this the French and the Poles have drawn the logical conclusion sion slon viz viz that the governments government's courts do not look upon the Steel Helm really as a private organization tion with no national military alms aims The second court case was just as I queer Two and a half halt years cars ago ao the German radical weekly Welt buehne edited by Herr Herron von on Oss et sky published an article by Walter Kreiser in which German government govern ment subventions to airplane companies com com- panics were sharply criticized It was hinted that there was some connection connection con between one branch of ot this civilian airplane business and Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Ger Ger- many's naval authorities and on the theother theother theother other hand that there was another connection with the military authorities authorities ties particularly at Johannisthal air air- drome After so much time had elapsed and Kreiser were suddenly hauled up before the supreme court courtat at Leipzig Once more the trial was held behind closed doors They were found guilty of ot having betrayed state secrets and were each sentenced to 1 18 months' months Imprisonment Here again the government is impaled impaled im im- im paled upon the horns of a dilemma by the courts court's decision If everything was vs on the level in the government subventions then the accused d could not be prosecuted for revealing state stat secrets and thereby endangering th the national security But they were convicted Hence there must have hav been secrets which Germany did no not want her neighbors to know |