Not Since Waddington

The goodwill visit of Premier Laval and Foreign Minister Aristide Briand to Berlin--first official German visit of any French statesmen since French Foreign Minister William Henry Waddington * led a French delegation to the Congress of Berlin in 1878--produced but one concrete result last week: It proved that the Government of German Chancellor Heinrich Bruening is powerful enough to provide an enthusiastic welcome for anybody. On the Frenchmen's arrival nobody was allowed near Friedrich Strasse station but policemen and members of the Reichsbanner, organized into cheering sections. Outside the Hotel Adlon handpicked pedestrians marshalled by detectives lustily cheered Herren Laval & Briand. Statesmen Laval, Bruening, Briand and Curtius formally organized their "Franco-German Economic Committee" (TIME, Sept. 28), a bit of window-dressing ostensibly destined to mitigate tariff barriers, aid in disposing of the products of both countries. MM. Laval & Briand dined with Chancellor Bruening at the German Chancellery, lunched with Dr. Curtius, paid a morning visit to Old Paul von Hindenburg and, before returning to Paris, laid a wreath on the tomb of Brer Briand's old friend and fellow peace worker, Gustav Stresemann. Talk of M. Laval's impending visit to the U. S. (see p. 11), and of the possibility that Herr Bruening would go too. almost obscured the whole Franco-German gesture.

* Waddington (1826--94), French-born, was the son of a British manufacturer who became a naturalized French citizen.

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