The Washington times., 1922-09-03
'sHolding the Baby. !"
LONDON, Sept. Q.

who 10 bearing the burden of
- half the world on his back, is
possibly In greater financial dan
ger than he has even been before.
He ought to watch with vigiiant
attention the discussions that are
being held In London upon Ger
man reparations and inter-allied
debts. Schemes are afoot which
may ultimately place US in q worse
and moro invidious position than
any other country which fought in
the war. Our people may return
from their holidays to find that in
the matter Of war liabilities Great
Britain has been left to hold the
babyi
This risk has been partly de-
veloped by the almost unnoticed
collusion Of two schools OF thought
in this country which. in reality.
are rs the poles asunder. On the
one hand, there are the persons
who. even when the war was at Its
height. were always crying: Let
poor Germany offr' .-
On the other hand. there are the
unstable folk-the friends OF every
nation but their own-who do not
care into what plight our taxpay-
ers may be plunged 90 long az they
please our continental neighbors.
Both these ill-assorted bedfellows
are now bawling at the tops OF
their voices that Britain must
make sacrifices" as though we
had not already brought ourselves
near ruin.
BL.AMEs THE MINISTER'S.
Meanwhile the ministers who
take our money and give 1t to
Jews and Arabs and half the ma
lions OF Europe, and who waste
revenue like water at homo, may
be quite ready to wipe out all that
10 owing to US, to pile enormous
liabilities upon US, and then. to
exclaim: "See what clever fellows
We are!'
Because British finance Is more
mismanaged today than It has been
for a hundred years want to say
q plain word on behalf OF that
humble and silent person, John
Citizen.
M. Poincare, the Prime Minister
OF France, has watched with pa
tience and reserve the breakdown
Of the Genoa conference and the
fiasco OF The Hague. Our minis
ters have spent the last six msnths
In learning that you cannot make
Q deal with the Moscow murder
gang. Having stood aside and
waited, NJ. Poincars Il now bring
Ing US q plan Of his own.
The essence Of M. Poincare's
plan ID. a. his supporters here and
in Paris cry daily. that britain
must make sacrifices"-Britain
with 2.ooo,oo unemployed against
Frances 1900. The first "sacri-
Zoe" We are asked to make II that
We shall cancel all the debts owing
to us by other countries, amount
ing to the enormous total OF
$4,000, ,o00, 900. OF this total
France owes US ss,sfe. .ooo. 900.
France says that she herself n
willing to cancel the 33.o2S, ,oso, 900
which other nations owe her. but
ss over one-third Of her loans were
to Russia and a. Germany has
taken over nearly all Belgium's
liabilities to France, the ''saori-
flee" Of our ally IL not very great.
M. Poincare says that II We
write off tho debts due to us, he
may agree to . reduction Of Ger
man rsparations: ana II oermany's
liabilities are reduced. Il may BE-
possible to float An international
loan to help Germany. though I
doubt that possibility. The Ger
man loan n 10 b largely used to
pay rsparations 70 Trsncs and Bel
gium- We have never got any.
thing out Of Germany. where do
We come inf
MAY BE LED AsTRAY.
Il II here that cur ministers,
with their podtivs genius for
financial ana economic biunderins.
are fflreiy 10 bs led sstray. M.
Poincare cheerfully contends that
n ws maize these momentous sacrf-
fices Germany and ali western Eu-
rope win be set going again. trade
VIII revive, and We shall find work
for our unemployed. I would an
swsr that there 10 not the smallest
guarantee or proof that these re-
suits WIN follow, for Germany may
soon be In the throes Of civil war.
Moreover, the proposal TO cancel
interaliied debts In Europe 10
quite irrelevant. because no state
N making the smallest attempt to
pay. The rest Of N. Poincare's
plan could be put into operation