The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1935. A FATEFUL PLEBISCITE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 92, 12 January 1935, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1935. A FATEFUL PLEBISCITE

It is no exaggeration of phrase to describe the Saar P which takes place to-morrow as a fateful event. Heie is a munity'which for the past 15 years has known that at the end ot a specified period dictated by international authority it would have to make a decision of profound significance to its racial, pohtica ana commercial future. The psychological effect of such an impending decision must alone have strongly influenced the political 0 the Saar people. Were they to be French or German wth all that is implied in these vastly different types of sovereignty, or to continue as a ward of the League of Nations, without national aims or inteiests There are three courses open for choice to-morrow; and in ordei that the selection may be made quietly, that the result of the voting mav be convincing enough to satisfy outside opinion, it has been deemed expedient to police the Saar electorate with an international military force. The plebiscite over, there remain the.terms upon which cn France or Germany, according as the voting goes, will withdraw politically from the Saar. By the Treaty of Versailles the coal mines of the Saar Basin were ceded to France in compensation the destruction of the coal-mines in the North of Fr T a f nc s R War and as partial reparation for war damages. If the pleb s favours the return of the Saar territory to Germany, that country will be called upon to purchase the coal-mines at a price to be fixe In of the case it was obvious that more trouble might be expected to arise from the condition of settlement than from the actual plebiscite. The position of officials serving under the piesen. administration, and of the workers in the coal-mines, the service ; of loans, the withdrawal and transfer of capital, and personal rights and liberties are all highly provocative questions. Hence it was agicci that these should be settled before and not after the plebiscite and general Satisfaction and relief was felt when it was announced that the settlement terms had been approved by both sides. Ihe impoi tance of this agreement resided not in the terms of the settlement, but in the fact that agreement had been reached, and the feeling of satisfaction with which it was received was further enhanced by the readiness of both sides to have the plebiscite itself supervised and controlled by international authority. If there were only two issues before the Saar voters to-mouow, there would be some justification for anticipating that* the plebiscite would be in favour of a return to Germany. But in view of recent events in Germany it is not improbable that many of the electors, feeling somewhat uncertain about the future, may be disposed to vote in favour of remaining as they are, a ward of the League o Nations On the other hand the Saar Basin is historically Geiman, and both tradition and race are likely to prove influential factors in the voting.