Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-17 | Page 3 | Gen. De Metz Denies German Statement

Gen. de Metz Deities German Statement FRANKFORT, April 1C GencralJdc Metz, commanding the French forces of occupation on the right bank of the Rhine today instructed the newspapers news-papers hero to public a denial of the German government's statement that high French officers at a meeting in Mayence discussed questions of political politi-cal strategy, the object of which was to divide Germany up into small republics. re-publics. s "This statement is absolutely without with-out foundation," the denial said. "Neither on the ninth of April nor previously pre-viously has any such meeting taken place." News despatches received here last Tuesday .from Berlin said that. a. semiofficial semi-official statement had been published there quoting: from what purported to be a report of a conference of French officers of high rank ut Mayence at which it was said to have been, agreed that the "line of the Rhine" was necessary neces-sary for the protection of France against the "revenge ideas of German military circles." The recreation of a buffer stale was considered, the report added, which would include that part of the right bank . of the Rhine comprising the Ducsseldorf industrial district, the Ruhr region, Frankfort and its neighborhood. neigh-borhood. oo