The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-07-10
GERMANY WORRY
TO WHOLE WORLD
Feared That 1t Will Follow
Russia Into Destructive
Revolution
FEAR FINANCIAL
COLLAPSE SOON
Failure to Pay War Preparations Would
Affect American Taxes-United States
Cannot Assume Aggressive Stand In
EurOpe-Awaits English Action
BY DAVID LAWRENCE


| Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
WASHINGTON, July lO-Germanv
| is the chief worry of the world. Drift
| ing along from one crisis to another
with her political and economic struc-
| ture steadily weakening there arises
again the spectre of another Russia
And if Germany should go the way of
| Russia the effect on France and Great
Britain would be an infinitely greater
shock than Europe as a whole could
stand.
This is the apprehensive state of
mind III Washington 5000 miles av.,v
! III physical distance, but from an &C.
onomlc viewpoint next door. Every
branch OF the government which
| touches foreign trade or is dependent
upon European economies Is afraid of
| collapse in Germany. The treasury de
partment expects to fund the allied war
debt. Interest and principal are con-
] tidently counted on to help ease Amer
ica's tax burden but while there is no
Official relationship between German
! payments OF war PREPARATIONS and allied
| payments on war debt to this country
the connection is all too obvious to off
| Cials to ignore.
If Germany should collapse. the al
| lies would promptly ask for a postpone
| They would contend 1T the money
| they had expected to receive from Ger
| many did not materialize and that the
/ crisis IN Germany had interfeTed with
| trade and other sources of income on
! which allied governments are. Deepen
dent.
Fear Political Chaos
i Germany if absolutely bankrupt, it
| is admitted here, would change the
| m n of IN, . h,r
| to be sure, financial bankruptcy is
| feared much less than political chaos.
| If Germany should go into a state of
| bankruptcy and turn to the allied gov
1 ernments for a receivership the view
| point of the French who have been in
sisting on the letter of the Versailles
| treat MIGHT be changed But if Ger
many falls into the hands of the Com
munists and confiscation of private
property begins, as was the case in
| P"sSia and an era of Bolshevistic ter
Tor sets in, France will steel herself
| against any concessions and will in
sist on maintaining a large standing
| army to protect her own frontier
! against the overflow of communism
across her borders
! Concerted Action Necessary
Some concerted action to save the
| German republic from disaster is es-
sential. The United States government
-. ~ iIUdt HHtlC WITH any move IHal
Will tend to hoal the Wirth cabinet on
a cabinet of similar principles in power
and would surely lend moral support
to any plan for a revision of the repa-
ratlons clauses of the Versailles treaty
The very announcement of such a re-
vision would strengthen the hands of
the WiTth cabinet and give the repub-
lie the first fruits of its patience and
help to convince the German people
that, if they pin their faith in the re-
public. the ship of state will be steered
through the crisis of today to safo~ seas
of orderly reconstruction
| What can be done? The initiative in
| European politics viii never be taken
here. Hints and informal suggestions
may emanate from Washington but
the administration of President Hard
ing believes that leadership in matters
such as these should come from some
European nation. America could not
very well refuse. The next step lies
however, with Britain.