GERMANY: Reaction to Locarno

Under the chairmanship of President von Hindenburg the Cabinet of the Reich, in full plenary session, recorded unanimously last week its complete concurrence with the procedure of Herr Stresemann and Dr. Luther in initialing the Locarno treaties (see INTERNATIONAL). Immediately thereafter the Foreign Relations Committee of the Reichstag indicated that no opposition to the treaties need bo feared from the Central or Socialist parties, since Herr Stresemann had declared before it: “The Rhineland treaty contains nothing but renunciation of all aggressive attacks . . . and does not interfere with the self-determination of peoples or with any other kind of peaceful development. . . . The text of the initialed treaties is not subject to alteration and must be taken or left as it stands.”

And Parliamentary leaders began to predict a safe majority in the Reichstag for the Locarno pacts.

Suddenly came action abrupt and typically decisive from theMonarchists, who abhor Locarno and all its works. At a caucus of the Nationalist Reichstag deputies a resolution was adopted condemning “the results of the Locarno treaties at present available.”

The Nationalist members of the Cabinet (three of them) interpreted this resolution as a party command to resign and forthwith presented their resignations to Chancellor Luther. It was felt that this development would inevitably lead to serious delays in ratifying the treaties. The Monarchist press was headlining: “The Pact is dead.”