BELGIUM WEIGHS ANCHOR

The recent announcement of Belgium's opposition to "defensive treaties" and King Leopold's strict neutrality speech, have left France with a rather sour taste in her mouth. The final blow to "collective security" and other such methods designed to freeze the "status quo" in Europe has been delivered courageously by Brussels in no uncertain manner. The Belgians have no wish to be drawn into a future world war through defensive pacts or entangling alliances, which they consider are as detrimental to their own welfare as to the peace of Europe.

The past fifteen years of diplomatic history have watched the decline of "collective security" and seen a tendency towards bilateral pacts, which have arisen to fill the gap. The allies, headed by France, have tried to perpetuate the victory of 1918 through the moribund League with its security and defense for the victors, and by these means have attempted to freeze the status quo, with disastrous results. Time is slowly proving to a reluctant Europe that the "status quo" can not be embalmed in such fashion, and that an uneven balance of power can never be maintained through multi-lateral pacts, unless war be used as an international black-jack to oppress the weaker nation. Belgium, realizing that too close an alignment with France may draw her into war with countries with which she has no direct quarrel, has clear sightedly chosen the independent path.

Except for France, the European powers are not at all perturbed by the Belgium declaration. London feels that this neutrality policy will enable France to concentrate on the Rhine, while Belgium can henceforth take care of her own frontier alone. For the future peace of Europe this move is a wise one, since European stability can never be achieved when eight or ten countries have "ganged up" upon one or two others in a "collective security" system.