The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-05-27
ASKS square DEAL"
FOR FRANCE FROM U. 5.
(By Maurice d Ally dc Verncuil. grand
officer OF the Legion of Honor and
honorary president Stock
Brokers AsS(ACiation.)

Paris, May 26.--America, with her
well-known views on fair play. from
her seat at the council table when
peace is finally declared. will be able
TO help France get a square deal"
in Americas own parlance. as far as
the safeguarding of our industries
are concerned.
The allies, from their position OF
vantage, will be able to insist on a
heavy money indemnity from Ger
many, but 1t Is not entirely a ques-
ton of monetary reparation with
France and our Belgian neighbors,
Commercially. unless special provi-
sions are made to the contrary, we
shall be impoverished for years to
come and our trade rivals. partcu-
larry Germany. will be enabled to
steal a march on us.
This. In my opinion. is the real Sc
tcret OF the savage destruction OF our
country by Hindenburg. He wants
to remove a rival from the afterthe-
war trade. The peril is indeed grave.
but it can be met without great diff
| ficulty If our allies will insist upon
certain conditions before granting an
armistice to Germany and Austria
| Hungary.
| First, we must by all means IN our
| power restore our Industries to the
same state OF production they were
! capable of before the war, and that
with the least possible delay. BY the
same token we must retard our enc
mics in their industrial progress and
prevent them from occupying our
place in the trade world
! The problem presented Is capable
J Of n natural and easy solution as well
| as a practical one. The duty OF our
allies will be to impose upon the
/ Teutons the heavy task OF repairing
themselves the damages they have
caused during the war TO France. Bel
GUM, Russia, Rumania, Serbia and
Montenegro The application of these
| principles would thus be worked out:
! First: That the Germans and Aus
! TRANS be required to send into the
devastated countries number of
workmen sufficient to level the
| ground, 20 III up the trenches, to de-
stroy the deep-duc military shelters
and actually prepare the destroyed
ground so that it will be capable OF
being titled
| Second, That the enemy be re-
puired 20 furnish sufficient workmen
and actual materials for the imme-
( date reconstruction Of the houses.
forts, edif1ces and monuments they
have destroyed
Third; That they be required to re-
place not only the furniture and
| household objects they have stolen
and destroyed. hut the agricultural In
struments they have either carried off
or rendered useless as well as the
machinery that will enable our
iminea. our factories and our work
shops TO Immediately resume work in
n manner that will give a production
equivalent to pre-war times
ha rt1tffrn4
put into Immediate re-exploitation all
the mines in the invaded districts
and during the time required for the
repairs they be forced 10 reoimhurso
the owners to an extent equivalent to
their ordinary output. either in money
or equivalent product: that they be
forced TO reimhu the owners for
the amount OF mineral extracted
during the war. that they be forced
to turn over 10 the owners sufficient
minerals 10 enable them TO make I'M
mediate delivery OF orders until the
properties are again In good working
order
Fifth: That they Re forced 20 no
pair all the railroads. furnish the
I necessary labor and actual materials
to rectifv the damages they have
! caused and in rhis same manner re-
plnEa all tho rolling stock they haze
seized, IEfatt they replace al the Sfttf'~
they have sunk by vessels Of equ,va-
lent or superior tonnage; that. IN SO
far rs possihl they be required 10
replace trees from their own forests
those destroyed In our own, or. n.
least. that they be- forced TO ship TO
us each year an amount OF timber
equivalent to that which we might
, have gathered from our own forests
In this manner can the allies force
, Germany TO disgorge the huge stocks
| OF various materials she has been as
sernbling during the war and in this
manner provide against flooding of
the neutral markets by German
goods.
or course, II goes without saving
that tho enemy should re forced 70
restore all the stocks and honda they
have stolen. to restore the works of
art they have pillaged or replace them
with others, having as great a pc
cuniary value. II not OF the same
kind.
II IS fair to insist IN the nature OF
reciprocal measures that all requisi-
-.