The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-05

f, ly the wholesale department of the
81 Tire company Here he will con-
| duct a modern tire shop. His phone
number will be 711S. Captain Sim
mons has the best wishes of 81" for
| his success.
his frame of mind never alters. In
provoking strikes in England and the
| United States the Germans hope to
find in those countries beneficial
commercial reaction and converts to
their cause. 1t must be admitted that
| there is certain opposition between
the execution by Germany of the re-
parational clauses and the Industrial
prosperity of the conquering nations.
In effect there exists only two ways
of transferring German riches and
property: the direct handing over of
| merchandise or the surrender OF
bonds. on a gold basis. But how can
one procure these bonds in continu-
| Gus manner unless by a surplus of
expectations? At all events, whatever
Germany delivers or sells outside
would be so much less to furnish
the creditor countries and their in
dustries.
Reason For Delay
That Is the reason there was such
delay in France in applying that
section OF the treaty relative to re-
parations in kind: that is why the
Weisbaden accord encountered hos
tility on all sides; that is why ce Haln
of the allies. only scheduled to draw
a small part of the rapara tional pay
ments. were more DESTROYS OF propos-
ing a reduction in the German debt
than of voting measures to hasten
the execution of the payments.
Did not Mr. McKenna come here to
say frankly that II England had
sought to reduce Germany's payments
she had done so because of her own
strikers, for whose benefit she
wanted to get the merchandise asked
for from Germany? Measures. how
ever, imposed themselves when il was
seen that Germany. violating that
clause in the treaty specifying that
Germans were to be at least as heav-
ily taxed as the allies. not only alb
stained from all serious fiscal effort
out practiced a policy~of mad waste
and prodi gality-305, 900 railroad en-
ployes more than in 1914, seven mil
lizards OF marks for public works.
twelve milliards for the merchant
marine, etc. The printing press never
ceased turning and fiduciary tnfla-
ton without precedent contributed to
the desired for collapse of the mark.
Finally. whereas, in 1918. law
was voted in France strictly prohib-
iting the export OF capital. the pur-
chase OF foreign bonds by individuals
was tolerated, even encouraged, by
the Reich. so much so that one may
say without exaggeration that only
foreigners now possess marks and
that the Germans hold almost exclu-
sively dollars pounds sterling, florins
and Swiss francs! German invest
ments in foreign countries amount
apparently to at least milliard of
dollars.
Have ] not the right to conclude
that the German failure arises not so
much from an incapacity to pay. as
from determination not to pay?
How to make Germany pay? Above
everything else it is necessary to re-
move the pretext beneath which she
lis escaping her liabilities. namely, the
continuous decrease in the value of
her money The mark needs to be
stabilized. / do not Know If the thing
is possible i shall simply make two
observations First, that the Ger
mans have in the end become the
victims of the movement which they
engineered.
Social Consequences
The collapse of the mark has gone
so Tar that today they are alarmed
at the prospect of Forthcoming social
consequences. Perhaps now they are
disposed to~make the effort at re-
covery that should have been made
llong ago. Secondly, we cannot afford
to lament over those who speculated
| in the mark. Consideration of their
situation should not hold up any de-