THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: Schweinehundl!

“What Devil is riding Briand?”

“Double Faced Briand shows his true /ace.”

“A knife in Germany’s back from Briand.”

“Evil Briand”

These comments, and others like them, sizzled from the sanctums of foremost Berlin editors, last week−even from such editors as urbane Georg Bernhard* and mild Henrich Rippler. . . .†

The rest of the Teuton press simply bellowed SCHWEINEHUND!! at M. Aristide Briand, French Foreign Minister, old, baggy-trousered, shaggy-headed, and perhaps Europe’s smartest statesman.

What may someday be remembered as “Briand’s Schweinehund Speech” was delivered last week before the Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva. The presence of the Assembly was immaterial. Briand was talking straight to World Public Opinion, defending himself, France and the Allies, thrusting hard at a certain German and at Germany.

Mullet’s Barbs. The certain German is Hermann Müuller, Chancellor of the German Reich. Last fortnight he gutturally addressed the League audience (TIME, Sept. 17), and thrust three barbs.

Barb One: Germany is now disarmed.

Therefore, contended Herr Müller, the Allies are morally obligated to disarm, too. But they are not disarming.

Barb Two: Germany is scrupulously fulfilling her Versailles Treaty obligations. Therefore, reminded Herr Müller, the Allies are reciprocally obligated (by a clause in the Treaty) to reward German good behavior with some such concession as early evacuation of the Rhineland.

Barb Three: Herr Müller implied that M. Briand is a hyprocrite, just talks peace, disarmament, etc., etc., etc.

Briand’s Thrusts. Never before has Peace Apostle Aristide Briand addressed the League in such militant, 100% French fashion as last week. Usually he exhales the grand hymn of International Concord. Last week he snapped like an angry Frenchman at enemy Germans: “It is very easy to make fine speeches about peace, and I know I have been reproached by my political enemies for producing words instead of deeds. I do not say that the German Chancellor is one of these reproachers. His speech was very eloquent. Still I could not help feeling that some such reproach underlay it.

“We have been asked why, seeing that Germany is disarmed, all other countries are armed, especially France. But Germany is not completely disarmed.** She has 100,000 men, and what men! Fine men−officers and non-commissioned officers−and behind them enormous numbers who have shown in the late War what heroes they were. You cannot say that if another call to arms sounded they would not, for eight or ten years at least, be ready to come forward and fight.”

So much for Germany’s potential might. Next M. Briand implied that the Reich has a still mightier potential ally, Soviet Russia. Of the reds M. Briand said with heavy innuendo:

“There may be one European country, not yet a League member, which has increased its armaments while all others have decreased theirs.* Its signature is attached to the [Kellogg] Pact of Paris renouncing war of aggression, but I do not know that it has renounced another kind of warfare which some regarded as a holy war,† thinking they and they alone understand the truth which they desire to impose upon other countries.”

Since Peace Prizer Briand’s dander was now up, he digressed completely, to flay the many critics of the new, secret Anglo-French military-naval agreement (TIME, Aug. 13). Everyone now knows that the existence of the agreement was revealed through an incredibly stupid British blunder; and a further piece of British folly has been to keep the text dark after the fact of its existence leaked. Passion tinged the rich tones of Briand’s voice as he cried: “France and Great Britain have been working together for the peace of the world, and have been singularly unfortunate.

“We had a very definite difference of view regarding certain questions concerning disarmament. We saw very little chance for success on the part of the [League] Preparatory Commission for Disarmament unless we could come to some agreement, so we got together.

“They talk of secret clauses. All we were doing was endeavoring to assist the cause of disarmament.”

Despite these plausible words, the secret continued kept.

Finally, having rubbed the wrong way Germany, Russia and all who hate “secret diplomacy,” Aristide Briand cooled serenely down. He concluded that he was now ready to discuss with the German and Allied plenipotentiaries at Geneva what should be done, after all, about evacuating the Rhineland.

By this time German news organs were already thundering SCHWEINEHUND !! Nay, .one furious member of the German Delegation had actually to be restrained from assaulting M. Briand, at whom he yelled, “Slanderer! You know we are disarmed!”

Even responsible correspondents cabled that all chance of adjusting the Rhineland matter had completely broken down. Frenzy! But after a while someone observed that a notice had been pinned on the League press bulletin board, calling attention to the fact that His Excellency the Foreign Minister of France was now quite ready to sit down and negotiate coolly.

Code telegrams flew between Geneva and Berlin. President von Hindenburg sent several. Sick-abed German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann sent his confidential secretary flying to Hermann Müller. Plainly, official Germany was amazed, staggered. But Aristide Briand repeated that now wou’J be a good time to negotiate, now while the welkin rang wit!: SCHWEINEHUND!!

Lightning. Of course, when people stopped to think, they realized that it was a good time to negotiate, and a good thing that Briand’s lightning had darted, shocked.

The shock silenced potent French political opponents of Aristide Briand, who have been scaring French voters with bogey tales that Internationalist Briand is a menace to French security and ever ready to give Germany something for nothing, for example the Locarno Pacts. Such critics were squashed very nearly flat, last week, when the Foreign Minister’s lightning produced a popular impression that he must be as 100% French as stern, suspicious, watchful Prime Minister Raymond Poincare, whom Germans hate & fear.

Moreover, the shock was potent in clearing the German popular mind of an impression that Pacifist Briand might be prevailed upon by Chancellor Müller to evacuate the Rhineland without cash compensation, just because it would be “right.”

After the “Schweinehund Speech,” however, it was clear that Briand and Poincare are one in stickling for cash. This impression Lightninger Briand strongly confirmed by a quick trip from Geneva to Paris to confer with President Poincare, and so back to negotiate with Chancellor Müller.

Success & Satisfaction. When the Briand-Müller pourparlers between German and Allied representatives were finally staged last week, agreement “in principle” was reached on the following enormously significant program: 1) Early evacuation of the Rhineland. Evacuation to involve the acceptance by Germany of a “Commission of Verification and Conciliation.” The commission to be a continuing body, charged with reporting whether treaty obligations are being kept all round; 2) Compensation to the Allies for evacuating the Rhineland to be paid by Germany in accordance with the recommendations of a “Committee of Financial Experts.” This committee will reopen with epochal significance the whole question of reparations.

As the statesmen emerged from their historic conference both Chancellor Müller and Foreign Minister Briand were beaming happily.

“Today’s procedure means,” cried Aristide Briand, “that final liquidation of the War has at last really begun. For myself I never doubted that the result of our pourparlers would be satisfactory, and so it is.

“All the principles have been settled and agreed upon by all. I am confident that the work of the experts which must now follow soon will also prove successful. Then within a few months at most−we will have the right to declare that at last we have fully cleared up the European situation.”

League Business. Few people cared whether the League Assembly was in session, last week, but the Delegates achieved: 1) Election of Spain, Venezuela and Persia to three-year-term League Council seats, Spain being further voted the assurance of re-election when term expires; 2) Handclap for announcement by Baron Adachi that Japan’s army is now down to 200,000 from War strength of 300,000; 3) Resolution of censure upon Chief League Undersecretary the Marquis Paulucci di Calooli Barone (onetime private secretary to Mussolini) because the Count is charged with trying to pop too many Fascists into League Secretariat posts.

* Editor of the Democratic Right’s pacifist Vossische Zcitung.

† Editor-owner of the Taegliche Rundschau, news organ of Foreign Minister Stresemann’s Populist Party.

** If it could be established that Germany were not “disarmed” (within the meaning of the Versailles Treaty) Germans would have good reason to expect a thoroughgoing “intervention” and bludgeoning by the Allies.

* Russian war might is now less than under Nicholas II, but greater than it was in the early days of the Soviet State.

† l. E. “The World Revolution of the World Proletariat,” preached with religious zeal by Reds.