Pans.
There will be no "preventive war." }France will not incite'a war she thinks she can win to-day against Germany order to prevent a war she thinks she may lose to-morrow.
This is the most important statement Jon the side of peace that may be flatly hazarded toward the end of a tour that has ted through all the countries Jailed with France and to the French 'Reasons why such a prophecy may hazarded, with full knowledge of the risk of prophecy, are'
The profoundly pacific sentiment of the French people to-day.
The French fortifications.
The Polish-German. non-aggression pact.
The uncertain stand of Italy.
he certain sand of England against The French desire for peace is! is tall, dark, swarthy, polite but reserved. Ise' listened to an account lof the fears that had been expressed Jin Germany that the French Air Fleet might some day put a practical jond to the disarmament debate by laying over Germany, and after giving ]warning to the inhabitants to remove themselves, bombing out of existence the German munitions factories and airplane factories and bases which the french regard as illegal under the \Versilles Treaty.
"That," he remarked, "sounds like a bad joke. 4 cannot imagine that any serious "German "could, have com templated such 2 ity. Certainly Jo great and proud country like Germany could only respond to such an jection by making war. We do not want war.
"The French Air Fleet is there to Jdete.4 "rouse, to attack no one. We jate trying to improve it. In the Jprocess of reorganization, we consider quauty much more' important than quantity. Not more aeroplanes, Dbut better ones Is our goal.
The General refused to express his opinion of the probable stage German lrearmement has reached in the air, but did permit himeelf to remark "the more aeroplanes Great Britain builds ithe better we like it. And, if I may say so, T should think that' the more jand better aeroplanes we build the better Great Britain ought to like it.
heartily agree with the [Lord Rothermere is waging for the limaprovement of the British Air Fleet. Our interests in this respect are com-
"Tacit Agreements" janeted "has exclaimed: "He stands Jaione. You could not find thousand Jmen in France to support that standpoint."
On the other extreme stood a pro-Jminent French publicist who "exclaimed: "Preventive war! Impossible!
regret, deeply regret to have fo say' it, but out of the question."
The Via Media In the middle, representative of the Jemall class of informed French Jopinion, stood a government represen Hative who declared: "We know that I asked the General if he believed that in the next war there would be a tacit agreement not to bombard each lether's cities, or would the enemy air fReets strike at the capitals to crush civilian morale, and fulfil all the horrors promised for the war in the He replied: "The French Air Fleet is not there to attack civilians but it azo attacked we shall reply As a matter of fact French defence strategy takes a German alr attack on Paris for granted. Every important french munitions work, or work Jeapable of being converted into muni Jtons manufacturing near Paris has been compelled by the government to Jestablish parallel plants far south of Paris, so that in the iment of the waris plants through bardment, work could be resumed within 48 hours in the Southern prench Air Service at a time when war notorious that its material was largely obsolescent. His three-year plan contemplates almost complete renewal of existing equipment: installation of heavy all motors; super-engines, variable pitch propellers, folding landing ger. Tt will cost around U-S:$80,000,000 yearly. "It is intended," he declared, "to make ithe French' Air Fleet capable of repelling any possible attack. We shall make no aggression but permit none against us."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.