The Washington herald., 1921-07-17
Believes 1t Will Injure
Industries of America
Payment Would Total Billion Annually for
Many Years-Thinks Free Trade
conceivable"

ISIS OF 6erman shlps, Onered Tor
sale by the government, for which
no buyers have yet been found. But
given this supply of tonnage, there
is no demand for new constructions.
The result is unemployment in the
great shipbuilding industries or
Britain.
Returning to the coal question.
for a moment. it is plain that the
repercussions have been felt gen.
orally. All the Industries depend
ing upon coal have been compellec
to reduce their operations and many
shut down altogether. Railway
service has been tremendously re-
stricted. the whole life of the
United Kingdom has been seriously
crippled by what must be recos-
nized as one consequence of the
effort to collect the German indem-
nifty.
Meanwhile France Gains.
But there are political. as wen
as economic consequences. Where
Britain has suffered, France has
manifestly benefited. for France,
lacking in coal, has been able to
obtain vast amounts of coal at a
low cost. amounts not alone surr-
cient to meet French demands, but
to enable France. as we have seen.
to sell coal to Great Britain-and
she has also sold it to other cou--
tries, notably Italy. French coal
mines have not been compelled to
shut down because of German i'm
portations, because French coal
production was totally inadequate
to French needs before the war and
German destruction during the war
still further reduced this produce
ton Moreover. given the French
coal situation with every French
mine working. France can still abb
sorb more than 100000 tons o,
German coal annually.
Further than tnat, there are
many other things which France
can take from Germany. Beyond
any doubt Germany will presently
begin to deliver fabricated houses
for the devastated area, an order of
$4,000 at the moment being dis-
cussed.- But such deliveries will nor
in the least affect the normal French
market because they represent alb
normal demand. To put the thing
simply, then. France can afford to
make Germany pay, because Ger
man payment will not. in the main.
be made in commodities which are
themselves competitive with French
production. Here is the key to all
the French insistance that Germany
must pay and pay to the limit of
her capacity.
Britain Loses French Trade.
For Britain. on the other hand.
German payment represents British
loss. as the example of the coal de-
liyeries has well demonstrated.
France was a very important Gus
toner of Britain in coal and in 9TH
er things. before the war. but now
France can get coal and other
things from Germany both more
cheaply and on account Of the in
demnity. The result is the imme-
diate restriction of the British mar
ket in France and the same Is true
to a lesser extent in Belgium and
in Italy.
1t follows, then, that French and
British policies toward Germany
clash incessantly. Britain desires
to see the German payments fixed
at low sum. both in the interests
of peace and because Of the conse-
quences to the British workingman
Of having his production deprived
of market, because that market is
filled by the cheaper German out
put, taken as a part of the German
indemnity payment. France, on the
other hand. demands a high indem-
nifty, to which she Is morally en-
which she will suffer no injuries.
Europe Must Pay In Goods.
So much for the German indem-
nifty. Now it must be plain that
there is a parallel between that and
the European debt to the United
States Like Germany. Europe must
pay us in goods and services: there
Is no question of money. As for
paper money. already at a high
discount. it would become of rar
less value if Europe undertook to
turn over to us billions in script.
AS for gold, we have more than
half OF the worlds supply now ana
our European debtors have not
enough left to pay one years Inter
est on what they owe US, together
with the sinking fund addition.
Great Britain might pay us a GER
tain sum by selling in this country
the holdings which remain to her of
her vast investments in American
railways and industries before the
war. But since the government
does not own these securities the
process would be difficult and the
effect upon the American stock
market. for example, would be dis
astrous. But France. Italy and Bel
gium certainly could not pay us in
that way, since they have no con-
siderable Investments. and we shall
hardly be able to demand seyerer
terms of the British than of other
debtors.
Transfer of Colonies Not Likely,
1t is fashionable in certain quar-
ters to suggest that the debt be dis
charged, in part at least, by the
transfer of British and French
colonies-Italy and Belgium have
none in our part of the world. But
does any one suppose that Canada,
for example. would consent to be
sold as piece of real estate by the
British government to meet an
American debt? Nor would Canada
consent that the British possessions
in the West Indies. together with
the Bermudas and the Bahamas.
which are to be transferred to her
control presently, should instead be
sold to the United States. At bot
tom 1t is palpably impossible in this
day and generation to sell popula-
tions, large or small, against their
will.
What is true of the British pos
sessions is also true for the French.