Evening star., 1921-04-27
BRITISH ASK BERLIN
QUESTIONS 0NNOTE
Inquire Informally to Clear
Up Ambiguity on Pay
ment Terms.
By the Associated Press

ment Terms.
By the Assoca ted Press
LONDON. April 27-The British
government today requested its rep
resentatives in Berlin to inquire in
formally regarding the new German
reparation offer for the purpose of
clearing up the ambiguity concern
ing the terms Of years in which the
payments would be made under the
offer
hs cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright. 1921.
BERLIN, Germany. April 27.-Ger-
many, fearing Premier Brands iron
nst mas forgotten her vociferous
claims Of the past few weeks thai i,
was far beyond her power to make
an indemnity offer even slightly APP
proachlng the sum fixed by the Lon
don conference. The whole country.
secretly or openly. feels relieved that
a loophole has been found through
Wnicn II may escape the threatened
tlon and control of the Ruhr coal
region and the so per cent export
duty.
True. Foreign Minister simons will,
oe asked by the reactionary party i'm
.ne reicnstag how he arrived at the
Iotai ngure of 0O.O00,O0O. 600 gold
marks C$47, 100000. .0o0). He win be
accused of having made his calcula-
uohs on the basis of political rather
economical considerations and
W1,nout the advice of experts. The
TIg wing criticism. however, is
maintain the prestige of the nartv
with its constituents.
Fears Bluff Has Been Called.
Hermany feels that her bluff has
oeen called and that at last she is
confronted with the full consequences
or the war. While politicians pub-
iicly repeat that the government will
remain firm" and would sooner SOC
berhn occupied by allied troops than
countersign the London demands the
conviction has been growing behind
tne scenes in Wilhelmstrasse that the
time has come to drop the dual role
and break to the people the news that
there is no way Of evading the in
demnity.
Premier Brands threats. coming as
they have almost daily, have had a
telling effect on the German morale.
though the majority of the news
papers have poohpoohed them. Per-
haps never before in history have a
government and people collapsed so
completely as have Germany and the
Germans in this case. Possibly Ger
many has dropped for all time the
attitude of bravado which she has
maintained for two and a half years
after her defeat. and peace may soon
become something more than word
ReichstnE Vote Expected.
BY the Associated Press.
BERLIN, April 27-The German
cabinet faced today vote by the
relchStag on the governments policy
in its reparation moves, including it's
appeal to President Harding for
mediation and the new reparation
proposals, just submitted to WASH
ington. Approval of this policy was
forecast in political quarters. as the
approving resolution was to be pre-
sented by the German peoples party,
the democrats and the clericals and
was reported also as likely to have
the support of the majority socialists.
Just what the cabinets fate would
be, however, if the effort for a settle
nent made through her parting should
fail is another question.
1t seems generally considered that
DR.. Walter Simons, the foreign min
lister. materially strengthened his
of his speech Of yesterday. in which
he not only dealt with Germanys ap-
peal to President Harding. but in
which he gave what the party leaders
designate as the most Illuminating
analysis of the reparation issue yet
delivered by him. He was only infre-
quently interrupted while reading his
statement. the opposition in national
ist quarters being confined to muffled
expressions of diSapproval.
Sought Counsel OF American.
During the course of his address
Dr. SimonS informed the reichstag
that he had sought the counsel of an
American attorney, now in Berlin. be-
fore drafting the appeal to President
Harding.
This statement caused a stir among
both deputies and spectators. (Spe-
cial dispatches from Berlin recently
have reported the presence there of
several Americans. who were said to
have been in consultations with For
eign Minister SimonS, among these
being Lafayette H. De FrieSe of New
York, Dr. Richard Molenks, mining
chung, y. J.. and Ludwig y. Hoefier
of San Francisco. These Americans
were said to have been in Berlin on
an important business miSsion.)
The foreign minister expressed be-
lief that the action of the cabinet in
this situation would ultimately re-
ceive full approval. He and his col
leagues. he said, were fully conscious
of the gravity of the procedure. which
would decide the destiny of
Germany.
Defends His Appeal.
Defending his appeal to Washing
ton and referring to President Hard-
ing and Secretary of State Hughes. !
Dr. SimonS said:
"A state which is still at war with
another state naturally cannot act as
a mediator, but its leader can do so.
and he is man who is ardently
the idea of arbitration
and who is being advised by dis
jurist. But we are not
only addressing ourselves to these
ren personally. but also appealing to
the principle of Justice
The foreign minister read the reichs- |
tag a lesson on parliamentary prac- |
tice when he told the deputies that !,
under democratic government the
was not Obliged to seek the |
of parliament in advance
when undertaking important action.