| OCR Text |
Show THE PEACE PACT Every (proponent of world peace in the United States doubtless has breathed a deep sigh of thankfulness when the word came from Europe recently that a security pact was about to be completed for England, France and Germany and Belgium. It is advised, however, not to get too excited as yet about chances of relegating the god of war to a permanent per-manent back seat so far as European Europe-an affairs are concerned In the first place, the negotiations are yet in a rather uncertain form, and many bridges have to be crossed before any pact is finally adopted From , what we, in America learn, the proposed pact is an ingenious device whereby Great Britian, holding1 hold-ing1 the balance of power, will jump all over France if she invades Germany Ger-many and will jump all over Germany Ger-many if she invades Belgium or France This looks very simple on the face of it, but is not so simple as it looks. The beginning of all wars are clouded cloud-ed with smoke screens of diplomacy until it is very often very difficult for the moment, to tell just which of the combatants has first jumped on to the other fellow. Like the two fighting school boys whe are suddenly sud-denly caught up by the teacher, it is the disposition of each to say that the other "he clone it first." The 'next war will probably start in Eastern Europe rather than along the Rhine, and this will make the untangling un-tangling of it all the more difficult. If Great Britian assumes the role of umpire, and decides for herself who Is the aggressor, she will doubtless make that decision in line with her own interests and very properly so if we look at it from the British standpoint. stand-point. There is some talk that the job of umpiring may be turned over to the league of nations. If this is done, the aggressor nation will be the one which fails to control the majority vote in the league. The most significant thing about the proposed security pact is not the terms of the pact itself, but the fact that France and Germany seem will-inng will-inng to negoitate. If the lion and the lamb really want to lie down peacefully together, some way will "pelled to act as umpire and to en-be en-be found to arrange it sooner or later. In the mean time Uncle Sam may be thankful that he will not be corn-force corn-force any decisions in European politics.. po-litics.. That is a job that he can well afford to turn over to Great Britian the league of nations or anybody who really wants it. Whatever the United States can do to help the peace, when the time of peril comes, will be done freely, hnd without any hammering commit ments in advance. |
