The Washington herald., 1921-04-03

saying that II Germany 10 de-
stroyed. all the world viii suffer
from the repercussions Of the COLI
lapsed, but France least of. all and
the French loss will hardly out
weigh the prospective French loss.
II Germany recovers her strength
and uses 1t as she openly proclaims
her purpose to use IL, namely, In
new assault upon France. The rea-
son for comparative advantage OF
France lies in the fact that. unlike
Germany, Italy, or for that matter
Great Britain. France is a self-con-
ta1ned country. with a comparative
ly low density of population.
France can feed herself; she can
practically meet all of her require
ments within her own home and CO.
lonial area, and she Is not highly In
dustrialized, like her neighbors. The
foundation of France is the peas
ant farm, the character Of France
that OF an agricultural country.
Policy Results.
II the French extend their oc-
cupation of Germany. IL they seize
mines and manufacturing establish
ments, IL they cut on from Ger
many the great Rhine and Silesian
centers. then Germany has lost those
workshops, those sources Of ma
teriaIs. by which she lives. She
cannot import raw materials TO
transform and export ID pay for
the vast quantities of food which
she must annually import TO feed
her teeming population. II French
armies move over the country. then
there is an end of foreign credits.
for the risk will far exceed the
promise of profit and Germany will
thus lose the supplies Of raw ma
terials. which. she must transform
in order to earn her food.
After all, Germany Is like a fac
tory city. with vast mills, with a
huge population of operatives. Such
a city does not grow its raw ma
terials or its foods; II must inn
port most of both. But II II be
separated from it's raw materials
from the things which ;he factories
use, then the factories must close
| the operatives must migrate cr
starve, and the city Is doomed to
vast shrinkage in population and In
Industrial Importance. This is pre-
cisely the fate which now overhangs
Germany, q fate which no nation car
avert. provided German policy con-
tinues to pursue the same path
ways II has followed during all oi
the last two years. Moreover. timt
does not wait and the period II
which a change OF policy can b'
made effectively has become shor'
in the extreme.
No one cares to prophesy abou
European conditions now. yet !
seems to me that of all possible
developments. that which Is mos
likely is the progressive ruin o.
Germany following the extension o.
French occupation and the aliena
ton of German properties. such at
coal mines and manufacturing eS
tablishments. More than this, 4
French armies do begin a seriou!
Invasion, a march to Berlin. we ar
bound to see the seizure of all ele
ments Of wealth, which can be con
sumed upon the place or movet
to France. These are not of grea
value, by comparison with the sum
Of reparations which are demand
ed. but they have an immediate
value and the loss of them CARRIE
with II the further disintegration o
German life.
Bear in mind that for every requi
sition. seizure, reprissl. the Frencl
and their allies, the Belgians. hav
an appropriate parallel. All o
Northern France and much of Bel
:. gium was literally swept clear o
livestock by the Germans durin
their period of invasion and occu
patton. II all reparations. save Il
kind, are refused France, she CA