Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-25
THREE BILLION
DOLLARS DAMAGE
France Anticipates More Than
Two Million Claims in War
Indemnity Tribunals.
WANT PROMPT PAYMENT

Correspondence OF The ASsociated Pressl
Paris. Jan. 8-Fifteen billion francs
is the estimate most generally &C
cepted as the total OF war damages to
public and private property in France,
according to Georges Desplas, OF the
war damages committee OF the
Chamber Of Deputies, who has
charge Of the legislation for the set
Element Of those damages. Although
prior to this war such damages were,
classed as catastrophies over which
neither men nor governments had any
CONTROL the general principle of in
demnity for such damages, whether
by the invaders or by the home army.
wa. accepted by the Chamber OF
Deputies last year and provisional
sum of 300,000,000 francs has already
been appropriated for immediate dis
More than 100000 claims are an
ticipated, a number so vast that it
would take the thirty courts OF the
invaded departments Of France about
l78 years to settle them at their nor
NAL rate of procedure, says M. Des-
plas in explaining to the Associated
Press the bill now under discussion
in Parliament. at proposes" he
says, "the creation of temporary war
indemnity tribunals somewhat similar
to the courts of claims in the United
States after the civil war, Each can
ton and each department in the in
vaded region will have commissions
which will appraise damages. The
temporary war tribunals in each de-
partment will pass upon these claims
and in cases of contest appeals will
be made to a body called the higher
commission, composed of members
Of Parliament, justices of the supreme
court, representatives of the different
agricultural societies and various de-
partments of the government, as al.
ready provided for by the law of
July 20, 1915.
Inclusive Bill.
THE bill admits all property hold
ers, corporations, departments and
municipalities, as we'll as individuals,
to the right to indemnities, 1t does
not specifically accord the right to
foreign property holders because such
a general principle would establish a
precedent from which other nations
would at once benefit without any
prospect Of reciprocal advantage for
France. As to neutrals and subjects
of countries allied to France. it will
be a question of treaties to be nego-
tiated, In the main, since the only ex-
listing treaties that might be inter-
preted as emitting subjects Of an
other country to the same rights as
French citizens are with Switzerland,
Spain and Denmark"
The proposed law declares to be
war damage" Immediate damages
caused by military operations Of the
German or allied troops, by fire, theft,
pillage, or a. the result Of enforced
flight or captivity Of the population
or removal Of their chattels by the
enemy. The basis of the appraisal will
be the value Of the property before
the war 500
The unemployment of the sums
paid as indemnities in the reconstrue-
ton or reconstruction OF the property
destroyed or damaged is one OF the
much debated articles of the meas
TIRE. The object Of it is to assure
the reconstruction of Frances econo-
mic machinery and discourage any
tendency OF claimants to abandon in
dustries or occupations upon which |
the prosperity Of the country de-
ponds.
Prompt PREPARATION.
Prompt reparation of damage after
the liberation of the invaded terri
tory and immediate reconstruction Of
industries and homes so as to restore
at the earliest possible moment the |
economic life Of the devastated prov
inces; that is what we are seeking to
accomplish said NJ. Dcsplas.
The Germans still occupy 1854 of
the 1921 communes of France. In
those communes there were 3,430,828 |
before the war with 875,-
600 habitations and 1890 factories. |
Complete information regarding dam
ages in territory that was temporar-
lily occupied by the Germans, but now
has been gathered by the
committee from 753 communes and
showed a total Of 1869 buildings
completely demolished and 2s,5o4
partly destroyed.
The occupation of these parts OF
the invaded departments, since llber-
ated, was brief, and the damages they
suffered are supposed to be insig-
in comparison with the
regions in proximity to the long sta
tionary battle front and behind the
German lines,
The losses in raw material and ma
chinery taken from the department
Of the Nord alone will run into bill
lions. The department of the Aisne
has also suffered heavily, as well as
the Pas de Calais. while the depart
ment OF the Ardennes, entirely occu-
pied since August, 1914, will furnish
claims running into the hundreds OF
millions.
France Gets New Idea