Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-02-11
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Germany Says She viii Not Pay
the Preparations Fixed by
Supreme Council.
WOULD ENSLAVE THE NATION
putting on Poor Face for Effect-Amer-
ican Unpreparedness Receives Some
BIows-Dawes Vigorously Con-
demns War Management Crit
ics-Latest Cabinet Guesses.
BY EDWARD W. PlcKARD.

BY EDWARD w. PIcKARD.
Germany says she neither can nor
will pay the total of PREPARATIONS that
was fixed by the supreme councils
billions in ~ years and tax of y
per cent on her exports during the
period. Eminent financial and eco
monte experts of the allied countries
and America agree that Germany will
find it impossible to pay that sum and
survive. Nevertheless, it is probable
that the German representatives in
the forthcoming London conference
will sign the agreement laid before
them, and that the allies thereafter
will get from the defeated country as
great a proportion of the 81 billions
as they can, modifying the terms from
time TO time.
The official protest of Germany was
voiced by DIR. Walter Simons, the for
eign minister, and what he said was
concurred in by the reichstag parties
through their leaders, with the excep-
ton of the ultra radicals, who gloried
in the painful position of the govern
ment. Doctor Simons asserted that
the obligations thus imposed on the
Germans would mean the complete
economic enslavement of the people,
and particularly of the workers. He
said the government would offer coun-
ter proposals at the London meeting
Among the people of France there
was satisfaction with the reparations
plan, especially because it was ex-
pected that the first effective pay
ments by Germany will make avail
able for negotiations or for use as Sc
curity the French share of the 60,0OO,-
100000 gold marks in bonds already
delivered by Germany to the repara-
lions commission. Great Britain has
agreed not to utilize her claim on Ger
many as a basis for loans during the
next five years, and this gives France
the opportunity to make use not only
of her share of the bonds but also her
part of the II per cent tax on Ger
many's expectations, to raise money
to continue the work of reconstruc-
ton in northern France.
That tax on German exports is a
feature that may cause lot of trou-
ble BY many it is held to be false
economics that will react to the in
Jury of other countries, and in Wash
ington there is talk that our state de-
partment may feel called on to make
formal protest Lloyd George says
the tax would be easy to collect and
he defends the plan in it's entirety.
If Germany should absolutely refuse
to it, he asserts, there is nothing for
US to do but to apply the treaty lit
orally
That opinion favoring German
claims in the matter may be based
on false premises is made clear by
the report of the conference of finan-
cial experts held in Brussels, in which
Germany is shown just how toSwipe
out the deficit of 76,000,000,000 marks
in her 1920 budget. The experts found
Germany was deliberately putting on
q poor face for the purpose of show
ing the world her precariOus financial
condition and her difficult situation.
Certain of her expenses were multi
piled rs times over those of 1919, and
certain of her taxes vastly below
those the people of the allied coun-
tries are paying. Furthermore, the
budgets of 1919 and 1920 carried a
number Of credits which were only
partly disbursed, such as 16,oOO0OO,-
600 marks for the allied armies of oc-
cupation expenses, of which only T.
500000,000 marks was spent. me
budget for 1920 carried 42,00O,OOO,0OO