The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-24

M
 nAnD,,E,AN nAnnrn "Deutschland Uber
 Ailes," the rally ing song of war days, rose in a rever- berating chorus. Ludendorfr lowered above the crowd like some national savior and hero
 Immediately after this incident, the same people who exalted Ludendorff were reading in their homes, or in bar rooms, one of the many daily venemous articles reciting "The Bntentes Mon strous Demands"
 The basis of these demands is com pensation for France for the devasta- ton of her northern provinces. For this purpose, billions of marks will be required Compound interest added and the sum involved becomes incredible.
 And nIi of this destruction, only
 small part of which was jusH-
 fled by military necessity, was
 dered by Ludendorff.
 PEND FOR DESTRUCTION
 He thought he was serving the fatherland by doing so, it is true, but even his most ardent admirers must admit that he was the victim of pernicious infatuation for destruction.
 Yet hundreds of thousands
 cheered him and lifted him and the
 flag for heaven to bless, and then
 became furiously indignant be-
 cause the victor in the war de-
 mnnds compensation for property
 destroyed. If my ono hnd smE- gestcd in thnt crowd thnt these
 debts were caused by LudendorfY's
 bfunders, his words would havc fallen deaf ears and his body
 would have been in danger. IL is
 still gospel in Germany today to
 say:
 'The war was forced upon us and it was not more cruel than any other war. Our army was unbeaten- We have already paid too much in terri tories, colonies, war mae-.ial and money"
 FRENCH KNOW FACTS
 The French hear this sort of talk and draw their own conclusions They perceive the wastefulness of the pres- ent lax German administration. the im- pudent luxury of the newly rich and brazen monarchistic manifestations by officials.
 The French know thnt the great
 German industries are making
 fantastic profits, that the Berlin
 bank deposits amount to from 30 to 50 billions of marks, and that
 I- billions are being spent yearly
 for strong drink. The French know
 that a Bavnrian army of 3OO,OOO
 men has not been disarmed. and
 that among the wnr criminals orr
 dered punished l6 months ngo no
 one has yet been brought to justice.
 All of these German tactics and blunders have made the French be- lieve that they need only use force to obtain the gigantic sums necessary to balance their budget And so, unless something should eventuate from the note exchange with Washington, we are confronted by this situation;
 WHAT WILL HAPPEN
 The Ruhr district will be occupied by French armies.
 The Upper Silesian coal regions will be given to Poland. Both will be ex- plotted for reparation purposes. The small gold reserve in the Reichsbank will be confiscated Thereafter Ger man productive power is expected to be strong enough to provide large sums for reparations.
 Although French impatience and anger at the many blunders of the Ger man government are comprehensible, it is nevertheless certain that the methods proposed by France will not have the desired effect. What looks like wealth in Germany--where thou sands of children are kept alive by American, especially Quaker, charity, of which we can never be thankful enough---is the product of printing presses that turn out paper money. This sort of money will not restore financial sanity to country whose deficit sis 10000, 900 gold marks an- nually. The idea of increasing Ger many's exports tenfold which would make our exports larger than those of America, is ridiculed by business men. Such a phenomenon. even if possible, would ruin the rest of the world through dumping.
 REAL GERMAN WEALTH
 Germany's real wealth consists in her technical equipment and the skill of her people in industry. Everything else is vapor and deception. A land of 60.000,00e industrious people. need never go bankrupt. But the delicate machinery which represents the do- nestle economy of this land can easily be destroyed by ignorant hands Sensi- 1 ble Frenchmen know that a pack mule can be made to move with friendly words, but not with whip.
 The entire reparations question is a problem of world economy, of which Germany must justly bear her bur den. but a solution is only possible where Europe 8 1UV,uUU,uVV people are capable of buying and consuming again
 If this simple truth Is not ham- uered in before Mny by the power to which ali would listen and If the German government d0e~ not tnke advantage of the offer from Washington 10 consider def- mite proposals from Berlin we shall see collision of two pxy- choiogichl elementss
 A Arm hand on Cermany's seollnr.''
 .Long live Ludendorn.v Is this to be the end of the most terrible and bloodiest sacrifices of all