Minister, who resigned because he could not agree to the reduction of the period of military service to 38 months, as, in his view, it would make the army too weak to cope with the eventualities he foresees, has explained his motives to the Chamber of Deputies without convincing his colleagues that any real danger exists. He quoted various figures showing that the Germans are trying hard to evade the stipulations of the peace treaty for the destruction of their war material, that they are secretly making new guns and aeroplanes and preserving their military organizations as far as possible, There seems to be little doubt that these things are being done in Germany, but how far they constitute a real danger to the safety of France and the peace of Europe is another question. It appears from the statements of the Premier and others in the course of the debate that all the highest military opinion in France considers that the reduction in the military burden on the country is perfectly safe, It will result in bringing the strength of the French army down by about 60,000 men, from 845,000 as at present to 785,000. Germany has not ceased to be dangerous, but whatever her secret preparations may be, she cannot overcome such enormous disadvantages as having to concentrate at a distance and being exposed to attack through the Rhine bridgeheads, not to mention that Frankfort and other important cities are virtually hostages. It is not impossible for Germany to mobilize, but she cannot do it without being found out.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.