New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-12
p WARREN BARTON BLAKE.

world po.itcs zen 3e"'9 ''sV'
.l.-lv sbrewd editorial writer. S.
y.-.ir- summed up the situation very
...lv and very briefly. In reading what
,,rovys u'easc remember that it appeared
!. August 19O5-snd that the Russo-Jap-
.,,ss peace conference had just been held
=. the Hotel Wentworth, Portsmouth, \.
p The sumner girls had been yelling un-
.,r4,al B1r.risi at Baron Komura and
" Takahira. and young VIII Irwin was
..,;e,iny a reputation reporting it all for
The New York SUM-" while another un-
.,ovn reporter-fellow, one Irwin. Cobb,
-. covering the same conference for THE
rvs,ing Sun" And there were good
,,,v scores Of other Yankee, British, Irish,
r,.-cb. Jaranese. Russian, German. Swe-
.;,b and Yiddish newspaper men at Ports
-,r.b studying the peace delegates and
.t. summer girls and organizing the
o.ser of Treat-whie down in New York
rirsr5 Sanford Martin summed it all up
Ike this:
A, for Europe the helplessness Of Russia
mise. tho balance Of power. The dual
.r.o,ce Of Russia and France has lost its
-..o. ,be-e IS nothing left in sight that Ger
-.- William is afraid or. England
.,,5. Fee. into the Baltic as timely
reminder or VIA, might happen there If the
r....- should become too obstreperous. The
kaiser. wl. ia tie matter Of Morocco con
..-.rs 90 delay such plans as were lard TOT
touring tic tranquility Of the state, and
-.~r things make the transatlantic game
ae,.c. rortr Watching than usual for Us, ana
.lot.l. -o make the Portsmouth conference
matter OF solcitous interest 10 Europe
Ia. r-o-o-et off an intimate alliance between
r-.s, B-.ts.r. France and Russia 10 curp
..-,.o-, and seeu the worlds equilibrium
...c. o.- rc,rhbor "The sun 20 suggest
d.. NOR, nracticanlo and effective close un'
isrs.sniirr between France, Great Britain
,-i .to United States. The mere suggestion
e,5ed and a column long, marks some
A.rrcs i'm American thought. That Lncie
,..s .fo.T concern himself Gctireiy db0W
N, ,l.-- ~ Eay0De IS hard 70 imagine,
5sr after aI Europe is part OF the WorIo'
rJr.th the world and IT'S peace we nave come
81 be abou- as much concerned as anybody:
rosd be- q bold prophet lrho 1coula
ar-fp miof deals orr country may or
rop r0t jc party to iclthm t"e"'V
leorg
Tea OF those twenty years have now eX-
rred. and ten remain. More pertinentiy
even than in August, 1905, one may write
o.dav that 10 would be bold prophet
rho would specify what deals our coun'
uy may or may not be party TO WITHIN
The next few years.
Meanwhile. 10 is rather natural Tor Us
70 recall the time when we were defni'eiy
allied with one Of the two powers named
nv M Martin az our potential ally-ar-
rsyed with that power against the otner
power which he names in that connection.
Our ally was, Of course, France; our OK
enemy. Britain. And these traditional
sdversaries. 50 closely linked to-day 1or
defence and Tor attack, sent US not many
months ago financial mission 70 cement
hat credit alliance which does alreaoy
tust between their governments and our
Owl bankers. When New Workers were
giving dinner 20 the Anglo-french
financial mission William D. Guthrie the
oastmaster. made one statement provoca-
tive Of no small degree Of newspaper DIS
eussion. His statement was as follows;
That country 'France'. according TO relia,
be historars, having expended IN DehalL -
the American colonies. between 1916 ana I'oi'
he great sum q s772 ,O00 900. for which she
sf:erward refused payment, t is time no"
for the United states 20 create credit LOT
The French Republic % a similar amount 70
b, repaid when France can 90 30.
Newspaper in New York were straight
way flooded with letters 70 the editor
Questioning the accuracy Of this figuring
Cgrouly, the doubters interpreted MI
Guthrie's statement as referring 70 a
French loan Of S772, 100000. Yet nothing
vas said Of any such French loan; the
reference was 20 expenditures" In l'o"
Robert Z. Livingston estimated tne
-|t.Nge tflr4fNA liDiN i AM
ara twenty million livres Tournois." There
fas, believe, a subsequent six million.
Ihese thirty million 'livres Tournois
a. o., francsJ would be about S6,OOO,OOo-
with buying power about twice what
nat llm would have to-day.
The difference between 3O.OOOOOO
-..yres Toprnois" and S772,O00,00O is OBJ
'io1siy considerable. Tint sum stonds tor
me npneys cgDendcd tB the French 0oo-
ffoment IN ~ n,iiifory ami noyal etorl
~ On ally Of me Coatiacni1l Congress.
u IL 10 cxaggeration 20 say that the
ooiied State owes us existence as an in
dependent national entity 20 the France Of
Ns eighteenth century: % that kingdom
nh'en ~as not just the country OF the
,D'''Dona, the Old Regime and the great
''s''luton, bit, prominently, the country
heial and democratic fcrment; the
q d..