The Ruhr

Obstinacy. The third Marquis of Salisbury, father of Lord Robert Cecil, once made a speech at Oxford, in which he referred to his countrymen as the "English." The speech was interrupted by loud cries of "British!" "What aboot the Scots!" But Salisbury went doggedly ahead and continued to say "English." In the same spirit France continues her policy in the Ruhr. She pays no heed to the economic consequences of her occupation of Germany's great industrial area, and, as obstinate as was the Marquis of Salisbury in saying "English," France is obstinate in believing that she will get what she wants in the Ruhr. Opinion. Unbiased opinion does not castigate the French for wanting reparations from unwilling Germany, and it does not question the justice of their claims. Much criticism has been hurled at France over her invasion of the Ruhr, but the comment is not intrinsically pro-German. It is usually a disapproval of the French method. It seems unlikely that France will get as much as she expected from the Ruhr; but if she does win through, and succeeds in forcing the Hun to his knees, many voices will unite in shouting: "Vive la France!" Policy. The damage caused to France during the war is an old story. It hardly needs repetition. The French claim that 85,750,000,000 francs worth of damage was done and say that what they want now is rep- aration for that damage and nothing more. Quite rightly they insist that if anyone is to suffer as a result of the barbaric war, it must be Germany--not France. To those who have not seen the awful horror of war this may sound shortsighted; but when the steel wall of need intercepts the vision, no one can tell what is on the other side. Resistance. The effect of increasing the military forces in the Ruhr by 20,000 men and tightening their control in the occupied area is leading the Germans from passive to desperate resistance. Last week the Reichstag voted a credit of 400,000,000,000 marks to the German Coal Syndicate to strengthen resistance in the Ruhr. The German resistance is so strong now that the French have been obliged to give more attention to running the railways than to getting coal from the pitheads.