The New York herald., 1922-12-21
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 81, 1879.
The Deadlocked Allies.

Twenty-Five months age, February
OF, 1921, THE New YoRK HERALD pub
lished an editorial article dealing
with the question Of reparations and
ihe deadlock of the Allies. 1t is
worth while to reprint that article
now, as nothing helpful to the situa-
lion has been accomplished in twen-
ty-two months. The article said:
I'm her attitude with regard to
the German indemnity we must as
:. sumo that France has fully counted
. the cost of her militant ultimatum
. to Germany. One week ago to-day
THE NEW YORK HERALD discussed
this situation. urging that the AL
= lies be guided by broad, deep wis
!" dom in whatever steps were taken
. at the London conference. In this
article, we said that Germany should
pay all she can pay without being
= degraded to the level of serfdom or
driven into an alliance with Boil
shevist Russia.
This now dangerous question
. goesfvery far beyond the relations
" of France to Germany and of Ger
many TO France. 1t is no more local
= than was the great war itself. 1t
nterlaees with the whole world.
II is possible that we are too far
away from the problem to get the
right view of it and 1t is possible
that France Is too close to the
problem to see 1t In the right per-
spective.
However this may be, we are COM
(" PEELED to say that we view with
" gravest concern this whole Nindem-
e nifty situation, tense as it now is.
IL looks to another world confagra-
g ton unless diplomacy takes the
. place of the mailed fist. The sum-
9 moning OF FocH to London by
= Premier BRAND either means bust
mess or means bluff.
In a deadlock like this isn't there
" . better way than either of these?
" Men throughout the ages have set
" tied their differences N one of three
= ways-by brute force or in the
+ courts or through arbitration. AS
y there Is no court that has jurisdic-
ton in the case of nations there
" remain only two ways Of settling
the differences between Germany
= and France, following the scheme
OF men--force OF arms and arbitra-
. ton, and force OF arms should be
. unthinkable at this time.
"If arbitration has worked well
" IN settling differences between men,
I" why shouldn't 1T work we'll in set
Ting this dangerous indemnity
question between Germany and
. France?
"It is the belief OF THE NEw
" YORK Herald that as arbiter Amer
+" lea could reach just settlement
q Of this difference that would carry
= TO the last ounce the indemnity
Germany is capable of paying and
+" that this indemnity so determined
. By sisinterested third party-a big
g and powerful nation-would be met
. by Germany without protest"
The argument of THE NEW YORK
ITrRALD twenty-five months ago holds
as true to-day as it did then. The
Allies are still hopelessly dead
locked on the reparations question
md on all questions having to do
witlhs Germany. Obviously 1t is not
possible for them to get together on
4 right basis, and right basis IS
one on which Europe can get back to
health. Nothing short Of
this would be a right basis.
In the editorial article herewith
reprinted THE NEw YORK HERALD
argued for arbitration, and suggested
America as the arbiter because OF
her disinterested position and her
lAg position among world Powers.
THE NEW YORK HERALD holds to the
same opinion to-day and urges that
the Allies without delay approach
America or some other nation or a
combination of nations with the pur-
pose of establishing tribunal Of
arbitration to settle these questions.