The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-13
Foreign Comment
Special Dispatches to The Argus from
Paris bureau of The Consolidated Press,
10 re de l'Elysee.
A Little American Joke.

Paris March Ills the American congress
serious or joking when it demands that France
and the other allies repay their war debt in %
years? Maurice Charny in the Ere Nouvelle,
thinks it is the spirit of Mark Twain reassert-
| ing itself He thinks America asks this impos-
sble fulfillment just to demonstrate its impos-
siblity, and to bring Europe back to earth from
dreams of huge indemnities. He says:
when the orators of the Republican league
J declared the other day that it was impossible
to balance our budget, and that there was a
deficit of several billions they did not yet
know the decision of the American senate.
I'VE owe the United States about fifteen bill
lions at par, that is to say, more than thirty
billions at the present rate of exchange. The
American senate has decided to demand this
payment within period of rs years. with an
interest of $50 per cent. From 1928 we have to
prepare to pay 25 yearly installments the
amount of which will vary according to the
time we take to free ourselves. In any case,
whether we have good or pad year, we
shall have to pay some hundred million dollars.
This certainly won't improve our exchange.
THUS we shall begin to experience in prac-
tice the difficulties with which Germany is con-
tending since she tries to pay with deprecated
money and credit reckoned in gold or in dol
lars which comes to the same thing. Most prob
ably our purchase of dollars will change the
value of the franc so that our debt to the Unit
ed States will increase progressively from 80
billion paper francs, to 40, so and 100
There is reason why it should stop at all!
ut would be very good opportunity for our
that commercial probity and furious energy
which has so often been found wanting in the
leaders of the reich. Voices from the HARVEST
will accuse us of treating our taxpayers with
too much consideration of voluntarily deter
iorating our money, of trying to get out of our
engagements What shall we answer? Prob
ably that economic laws are stronger than the
frmest will; that the burden of such a heavy
foreign debt is intolerable and that in any case
we must be allowed longer time. We shall offer
to pay in kind with labor; we shall send dresses
from one firm and hats from another to the
United States instead of gold. AS to qualified
vorkmen unfortunately we have only too many
among the free or artistic careers. Shall we
send a few lawyers few lecturers some MEM
bers of the Comedic Francise, and Mile Mis-
tinguette to the United states as interest on the
demanded annuities?
"You will say this is absurd, and / quite
agree with you but there are truths which can
only be proved by the absurd. / amagine that
in demanding pecunary sacrifice from France
which is morally disagreagle and economical
ly impossible, our old allies want to prove to
us the material impossibility of payments in
gold when it is a question of such huge sums
and to prove to US the absurdity of obstinately
exacting from Germany the payment of 60,O00,-
900 that she owes US, in money or in equiv
alent securities.
This is at least the only way of understand
ing this extraordinary decision of the Amerl-
can senate" continues the writer. But If 1t
were really serious, and our old allies had in
deed the intention of sending us the bailiffs,
the only thing could do would be to tell
them to go next door.
For. in spite of the Monroe doctrine and
the Versailles treaty, and the frontiers. the
problem of financial liquidation of the war is
whole from which it is impossible to take away
automatically some parts l would willingly
admit that the reparations question is insov
able if it is limited to a settlement of accounts
between Germany and the reparations commits
sion. But the question of the American debt
is none the less insolvable if it is limited to
France United States dialog. President Hard
ing and his advisers are too wise not to see this
resemblance.
Until further news then let US consider this
decision as a manifestation of Yankee humor,
one of Mark Twain's amusing jokes with a
practical moral lesson in the back ground.
When they have done joking on the other side
of the Atlantic and of talking nonsense this
side it will be time to talk seriously of the huge
international credit operations which alone will
help to liquidate the enormous debt which
the World has bequeathed US"