Evening star., 1922-06-18
The Story the Week Has Told

bold. that the distinguished bankers. whether
through timiditv wise discretion. become
which accentuates the burden of Germany's
obligation is also a serious factor IN the case
of the external public debts OF the ai,ea sGEn
tries. Such questions, however. as interailieo
Indebtedness are outside the committee 8 com
petence. and cannot. therefore. be discussed sea
here. But the committee cannot ignore the
fact that in the minds of those VINO consider
any adjustment of reparation obiigations tney
are bound 10 be discussed. and that tney are
among the factors in the problem OF securing
that desirable allied agreement which they
consider of the essential conditions OF
loan to Germany
Now, had the bankers spoken - out out simply simply
would they would they not have said that
France will not consent to such reduction OF
the reparations total as would sufficiently re-
establish German credit to make a loan attrac-
tive to American investors. without corre-
spending reduction of French external public
debts: in other words. unless the United States
cancels the war debts owing TO ner: me
infer from sundry expressions in the majority
report that the committee Except the French
meri,ber) blame France for refusal to give
consent to reduction of the reparatons total
without stpulatory corresponding reduction
certain CO thai the Committee intended such
blame, but the text certainly does not forbid
committee com submitted a minority report dis
sociating himself from the conclusions (Which
failed to conclude) of the majority report
At any rate. the committee failed. Discus
sion of the probable effect of their failure on
the reparations problem must be POSTPONED to
had no intention in the above to express any
opinion to whether or not the war debts
should be cancelled.
X X
The Hngue.-Representativ of the powers
which propose to continue the negotiations
with the Russians assembled at The Hague
on the 18th TO Exchange views and to choose
a commission of experts to meet a Russian
commission of experts at The Hague on the
26th. The composition of the non-Russian
commission must be notified to the Moscow
government by the GOTH Things seem to be
rather at skies and sevens at the preliminary
meeting.
common preliminary understanding be-
tween the groups of powers headed by Britain
and the group headed by France rightly as-
of sfFtI the ' EXPERTS conferences on the grand
principles of a policy concerning Russian
questions seems to be despaired of. The
prospect pleaSeS not
X X
Royal Nnrringe.-On June at Belgrade
King Alexander of the kingdom of the Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes took in marriage Princess
Marie of Rumania, one of the most beautiful
of royal personages. though not as beautiful
as her British mother in her prime. Some
three hundred thousand of Alexanders sub
jects locked to Belgrade to what they
could of the festivities For the pacifist spec
t";or the occasion must have been fatally
marred by the presence in the city of $4,000
troopS guard against possible outrageous
attempts by disaffected elements of the hetero-
genous Observation-Disclosures Croats. AL
banians. Macedonians communists of what
Bomb throwing is not yet obso-
Iete as an outdoor sport in Belgrade as Alex
ander well knows; and he was taking no
chances. one could wish to have been there.
for the ceremonies were magnificent, with
many a touch of ancientry. Hitherto the
Obrenovitches tthe reignng Serbian housed
have not been qute-"well, not exactly. you
surely arrived; else the Duke of York
would not have been there as best man.
X X X
Chinn.-Waving the conditions he had an
nounced June 10 Lii Yuan Hung assumed