Albuquerque morning journal., 1919-04-22


tain and France WHICH fear Germany
is not to be mulcted for fun damages
Their fears promise to have good
grounds, for they grew out of be-
lief inconsistent with the fourteen
points, which specify that the pay
ments shall be reparational of actual
war damages.
Without attempting to pass judg-
ment upon the worth of the method,
it would be ignoring the obvious truth
did | not say that one significant rea-
son animating the conference to re-
frain from fixing the final amounts
was wholly political. BY leaving the
total open it is possible for the Brit
ish and French gUvernmehts-both
of which have made great promises
to their peoples as to moneys they
intended recovering from the enemy
to continue their assurances of sucn
purpose and deny any alteration Of
the plan. 1t began to be believed. and
with reason, that a discussion OF her
capacity to pay would initiate against
the size of the bill to be presented to
Germany. Therefore, no estimate of
capacity is made in the formula and
at the same time no reference is in
dulged in as to the damages that Ger
charge.
Yet the sub-commission on claims
has found that the total of those fail
ing into approved categories will only
come to somewhere between forty
and fifty billion dollars for all the al
lies. 1t will be seen Immediately tina.
this sum is scarcely adequate to meet
the expectation held in certain quar-
ters that payment is to be made in
full of Great Britain's whole war
costs of about one hundred and
twenty-five billions, or that of France,
which has been put at siXty-eight
billions.
Yet both these figures we're used in
the political promises, including those
uttered by the British prime minister
himself. Because of these promises
there is a frantic effort to make the
performances square with them, or at
least to give a pretense of squaring.
The categories of damages, which
form an annex to the treaty, were out
lined in a dispatch sent on April 8
and include such classes as pensions,
damages inflicted by loss of civilian
life maltreatment of civilians, de-
eortations, loss to labor through stop
page of industries, damage to prop
erty, including shipping loss, through
Illegal acquisitions and the collection
of moneys during occupations, and
theft of materials providing they are
not restored.
The claims are of such a compli-
Gated nature that they will require
time for examination cit will be re-
membered how long the commission
on the privateer Alabama sat), and
hn ,ci CCt bN
will have two years to determine
them. In this period those whose ell
thusiasm corrupted +heir judgment
will have a chance TO stay under par
tal cover, for until the last count is
in they can always answer charges
of bad faith by saying, wait and
see" However, those free from disin-
genuousness realize already that the
total of claims will not go much more
than $4,000, 100000, if that high, and
they believe further that the German
capacity and the faulty methods en-
ployed in the formula will not enable
the allies finally to recover more than
| half that amount, regardless of this
time element involved.
What if Germany refuses to go or
| paying in a few years? they ask. AS
! they see it, it will scarcely be pos
| sible to go to war to collect the debt
! There may be an economic blockade
| but that is highly probematical, fol-
| it would disturb the equilibrium, and
! besides, by that time, and many be-
| lieve it, Germany will have a vast eX-
| port market in Russia from which
she will be drawing raw stuffs. As
! Russia isn't a party to the presel!t
/ treaty even though the damages in
| flicted upon her by Germans are t.
| be included in the commissions in,
quiry, she will not be party to the
! blockade
/ There are other points of worry in.
volved in the treaty and these con
cern methods of division of the sum-
to be paid by Germany both imme
I diately and in the future. Fortunate
| ly, America isn't interested in the
matter of distribution, but there is {
serious problem to be settled by BrI
! tain, France, Belgium and other coun
! tries as to method of participation ant
! priorities after the payments arc
made on damage caused by the inva
| sion, on which factor there is al
| agreement that it shall come first.
/ If President Wilson can avoid it n,
u American will be on the permanen
commission created by the treaty
Our own damages will not be mucl
more than 100000, 900, due mostly It
loss of life and shipping. and we ar
willing to have Others Judge as to tn