Locarno Consummated

A slim, suave, efficient man whose politely arching eyebrows repeat the curve of his impeccable, stiff cuffs welcomed to his modest, comfortable office in Geneva last week the plenipotent representatives of seven states. He who made comfortable the distinguished seven and received seven packets of documents brought by their several bustling secretaries was of course Sir Eric Drummond, indefatigable and invaluable Secreatry-General of the League of Nations.

The seven packets contained the mutual indorsements of the Locarno Pacts-(TIME, Oct. 26) duly imprinted with the great seals of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. With the entrance of Germany into the League (TiME, Sept. 20) the last obstacle to the consummation of the pacts stood removed. It remained only to go through the formality of exchanging the Locarno ratifications among the signatory powers and to deposit these dry but vital documents with the League. In a twinkling the thing was done. Then torrents of mutual laudation gushed.

Sir Austen Chamberlain, His Britannic Majesty's Foreign Secretary, inclined his lank frame depreciatingly when Foreign Minister Stresemann of Germany declared that Sir Austen's diplomacy had forced the bud of Locarno into flower and continued: "Locarno is the end of the policy of opposition and conflicting aims. Now that this policy is ceasing and the powers are cooperating, Locarno is merged into the League of Nations."

Signor Scialoja (Italy) and MM. de Brouckere (Belgium), Zaleski (Poland) and Benes (Czechoslovakia) delivered similar sentiments. Most specific however was the speech of Foreign Minister Briand of France who declared simply: "The ideal of Locarno has become concrete. We of France now wish to see terminated as soon as practicable the activities of the Allied Military Control Commission in Germany."

* Consisting of seven treaties: The Rhineland Security Treaty among Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium; four Arbitration Treaties between Germany and, respectively, France, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia; and two Guarantee Treaties signed by France, respectively with Poland and Czechoslovakia. The intent of these treaties is to preserve not only the peace of the German Rhineland frontier but also that of the Northern German frontier.