The New York herald., 1921-05-12
THURSDAY. MAY 12, 1921.
Cermany's Acceptance.

The wise, I'm the circumstances the
only. thing for Germany TO do was to
accept unqualifiedly, as she has done,
the ultimatum of the Allies. by this
settlement a tremendous menace is
lifted from the world. Germany re-
mains In control of her own indus
trial scentres, the Allies are relieved
OF the expense. labor and responsi-
: hility Of occupation; Europe, with the
\ possible exception of Russia. is again
free to reestablish general CONNER
cial and financial intercourse, while
oil nations may share in the re-
fected benefits of a peace which now
Becomes an accomplished fact.
There is no room for doubt as to
Germany's capacity to meet the first
reparation requirements under the
new contract and the revised condi-
tions. How much further the Ger
. mans may go beyond the annual pay
1nent Of some half a billion dollars.
with which the scheme starts, will
depend on various and varied cir
cumstances. The measure of Ger
nany's payments, under the new
agreement, is the value Of her exports,
and the measure of her exports, Of
course, must be based upon economic
I, conditions in Britain, France. the
United States and other countries.
If the Germans work as they know
now to work and as they now are
compelled to work TO discharge their
colossal indemnity obligation. they
! will need from the great industrial
nations raw materials and CONNER
cial credits In quantity. They will
require selling markets for their sur
plus of finished products in scarcely
less quantity.
The question will come up in the
/, United States, for example. as to how
much competition American pro-
ducers can stand abroad and right
here at home from aggressive Ger
man producers. Unless American
workers get back to the old Amer
Jean standards OF productive eff
cheney, economically produced German
I. goods, pressing insistently for sale,
will capture foreign markets in which
American goods are now supreme.
III, indeed, American workers con-
.inue to let their productive capacity
decline as 1t has been declining from
unwillingness TO put In sufficient
hours to make a square days work
or enough drive In those hours to
turn out q superior product, our pro-
+. ducers will not be able to hold their
own home markets against the eager
\ German competition which will chal-
lenge us first of all. Perhaps IL
we do not take big brace in the
economic efficiency OF our man power,
German goods cannot be kept from
overwhelming our own market even
by n tariff unless It Is as high as
the sky.
s II not only this country but Great
Britain, France and other industrial
Powers should find themselves COM
PEELED to set up insurmountable har-
riers against the rush OF competitive
: goods from Germany, obviously the
+ present reparation plan could not yield
\ the payments that are based essen
lNttially on German exports. But II such
Il German competition should only stim-
ulate American productivity as well
as British productivity back to the old
degree of proficiency and success. then
the markets Of both countries could
stand the shock OF the German com
petitive drive and come out all the
better for It.
Meanwhile the whole world Is en-
titled to rejoice Mt tho new prospect
Of peace, tranquility ana stability in
place of the turmoil which involved
all Europe while the settlement hung
nrn Ar,.h u Ai,,,. nhl.,.. At.na h.nn ..n.