Evening star., 1921-05-08
by MAXIMILIAN HARDEN.
Germany'x Foremost PubIicist.

BY Cable 10 The Star.
BERLIN. May THE stentorian
voices which before Troy made them
selves heard above the voices of
! fifty men would not be loud enough
today to cry:
Not for love Of Germany. but for
the sake of European peace let all
| well-meaning men prevent this new
step of the allies-the establishment
of military and economic foreign rule
over the Industrial districts of the
lower Rhine and Ruhr!'
We are confronted by the most
fatefu! decision since Versailles.
Once the armies of France march
in and a new rule is imposed upon
German industry the end of the oc-
cupation is incalculable. AS the pro-
posed payments are spread over thir-
ty years and the debtor is deemed
untrustworthy. there will be always
the chance to say the pledge is
unrelinquishable.
Permitting one nation to controi
most of the valuable possessions OF
another, especially when there is
great hatred between them. exposes
the former to most DANGEROUS
temptation. The keeping OF the
! whole of the West German indus
trial diStrict--the coal, the iron, the
steel the chemicals. the textiles and
the dyestuffs-under French control
would be too enticing to expect a
speedy end to the arrangement.
Nor could there be any hope from
an ultimatum presented TO Germany
after the occupation has begun. II
about his fee after making the Incl
sion. 1t would be easy to imagine
what conditions we would have to
meet before the tico-milltary oc'
cupations would cease.
1t would be cowardly, even stupid
to deny that the German government
and parliament have made terrible
blunders in dealing with the repara'
tions question. Even the last pro.
posals made to President Harding
were not acceptable, first, because
they represented arithmetical jug
cent would not equal two hundred
billions in fifty, or even sixty, annul-
ties). and second because they were
linked with conditions demanding az
most unfavorable moment that the
allies abandon their most important
advantages under the treaty OF YER
sailleS.
Most Difficult of Problems.
But everybody must admit that the
reparations problem is the most diff.
cult a nation ever faced. nation
No. the most difficult a continent ever
faced Or, perhaps, the entire clvl.
liked world. Take single phase o'
the problem:
If we offer the manual labor OF
thousands of German workmen to re-
build northern France, Paris an
SWerS:
'That would be colonization. And
the inhabitants Of the devastated re,
gions could not stand the sight o1
hordes of former invaders living com
fortably in their country"
If we offer machines and other tech
nical equipment and implements, they
say:
Impossible! In that case we should
have to get spare parts for renewing
and repairing the machinery from
Germany. whose industry would thus
become too powerful in control or oul
northern departments"
The surrender of German ships ha:
caused tonnage values to fall every
where, and the more ships our yards
build for the allies the more difficult
shipbuilding industry.
Germany's reparation coal is Of
fered in France at below the price
of English coal. thereby destroying
the English market on the continent
and an unlimited dictatorship by
British industrial economy to
standstill.
Most Of the countries affected by
the reparations issue are opposing
the importation of large quantities OF
German dyestuffs and manufactured
goods because they do not want to
imperil their own industries.
Even the United States, which alone
could take large amounts of these
goods, thus helping Germany's paying
capacity. is planning higher protec-
tive tariffs.
Thus. it is seen. that what We can
give is not wanted. and what is
wanted we cannot give, namely gold,
the only international money. The So
luton is not so simple as many seem