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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0277.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER AND AIRSHIPS ^founded in 1909 Fmsr AERONAUTICAL^WEEKLY IN THE°1VORLD OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB No. 1363. Vol. XXVII. FEBRUARY 7, 1935 Thursdays, Price 6d. By Post, 7*d. Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: Telegrams : Truditur, Watioo, London. DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telephone : Hop 3333 (50 lines.) HERTFORD ST., COVENTRY. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, i Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 2971. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home and Canada : Other Countries : Year, i.1 13 0. Year, 11 15 0. 260, DBANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams : Ilifle, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars, 4412 26B, RENFIELD St.. GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams : IlifTe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. 6 months, 16s. 6d. 6 months, 17s. 6d. 3 months, 8s. 3d. 3 months, 8s. 91. The Air Locarno AFTER the Treaty of Versailles had been signed, President Wilson and the British Government i agreed to protect France against any future German aggression. The United States Con- ; gress refused to ratify this agreement, and from that refusal date most of the subsequent troubles of Western Europe. France, left without allies, was : nervous of a war of revenge by Germany when the latter should have recovered from her defeat. For that ! reason she armed herself and stood in the way of all : plans for disarmament; for that reason she clung to those clauses in the Treaty of Versailles which forbade Germany to re-arm. Who can blame her? For the time victory had made her strong, but the German people are potentially stronger than the French people, and France has had bitter experiences in the past. A frightened man is a dangerous man, and a Power in a state of nervousness is a very unsettling influence in the comity of nations. Calm judgment is not easy when nerves are frayed, and many ordinary observers, as well as the professional politicians, felt that the peace oi Europe could never be firmly based unless France were to receive guarantees which would restore her to a condition of confidence. The Locarno Treaty went some way in that direction, but in various respects it was n°t a satisfactory arrangement. The new agreement Pi oposed by the British and French Governments is uch more satisfactory, and as it contemplates primarily att "f ^ t0 France in the event of an unprovoked ack, it should quell that nervousness of hers which as had such an unsettling effect upon Europe. nrn a ,c°ncrete example of the confidence which this V]7°A s insPired in the French Government, M. ']., n a,nd M- Laval are now willing to cancel the disa the Versailles Treaty which provide for the WfTlm of Germany. That is a very striking Proof of the value of this plan. The other great unsettling influence in Europe has been the resentment of Germany at the humiliations imposed upon her by the results of her defeat. At the moment we are not concerned to discuss their justice or their wisdom. It is peace in the future which is at stake. Germany has been invited to join in this Locarno of the air. If she will do so, that in itself should help to avert the danger of war. There are some who believe that Germany will never be satisfied until she has wiped out her defeat by a victory in war. if that be the case, such a pact as this will restrain her ambitions. She must naturally expect a quid pro quo. What she is offered is the deletion of the disarmament clauses of the Versailles Treaty, and her restoration to a position of complete equality of status with the victor nations. It is true that she has re-armed in defiance of the Treaty, but none the less such a conces sion will be very valuable to her, and it ought to restore her amour propre without the shedding of blood.. If the plan does this it will have removed another menace to peace. Better Than Disarmament It would be unwise to lay too much stress on the words " unprovoked aerial aggression." No attempt has been made to define what is provocation, and it is certain that at a crisis each nation would decide for itself whom it considered to be the aggressor. Italy behaved in that way in 1914 when she denounced the Triple Alliance between herself, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. None the less, the plan (if it is approved) should certainly lessen the risk of war by removing the nervousness of France and the humiliation of Germany. This plan is immensely preferable to the proposals for air disarmament over which so much time has been wasted at Geneva. It is practical; not merely idealistic. While all the signatories will be strengthened by it, all will find less need for an expensive and possibly dangerous race in air armaments. Proper and reason able development of air forces will no longer be looked
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