The Rock Island Argus and daily union., 1922-03-06
Foreign Comment
Special Dispatches to The Argus from
Paris bureau Of Tie Consolidated Press,
10 re de lElysee.
France Blocking the Way"
By p. A. BRANCIER,
Member of French Senate.)

Paris March ASK Englishman or an
American what he thinks about the present sit
uation in Europe, he will always give the same
answer: France is blocking the way. This Is
the result of the latest German propaganda
1t is fact that business is at a standstill
throughout the world, but are we responsible!
Not in the least The responsible ones are those
who do not carry out the peace treaty, and
among them those who hold out hope to the
Germans that the peace treaty will have to be
revised, that is to say, the British prime min
lister. Mr. Lloyd George.
What was the use of all these conferences
which Mr.. Lloyd George forced upon us if they
were not attempts to revise the treaty?
But there exists a peace treaty, and there
was reparations commission charged to see
that it was carried out What has Mr.. Lloyd
George made of it? A simple commission for
registering decisions which were forced from
US. What has become of the famous Paris
agreement? The forced acceptance by the su-
preme council of an amputation of our credit.
What became afterwards of the London
agreement, which Cancelled the Paris decision?
Another amputation Of our credit A most seri-
Gus amputation since it deprived us of an i'm
mediate payment of II billion gold marks.
The reparations commission has done its
duty. Twice it summoned Germany to pay the
II billions before the first of May, as the treaty
required
NJ. BRAND, on his return from London, tried
to prove to US that IL billion gold marks rep
resented such a huge sum, that transfer of
such wealth was impossible.
reparations commission had declared that the
payment could be made. And we never heard
that at the time of the Paris agreement Mr..
Lloyd George made the least objection to this
payment.
What has been happening in London? Why
did the possible suddenly become impossible? ?
We don't understand.
After all the Germans had had two years
and a half to prepare for this payment. Dur
ing the years 1919 and 1920 we ourselves had
paid abroad As billion francs representing the
balance of our imports over our exports. That
is indeed a great deal more than II billion gold
marks. And if in spite of our poverty arising
from our vast devastated regions we were able
to pay As billions abroad, it is not too much to
expect that Germany with her agriculture and
her factories intact could pay the II billions
that she owed if she had wanted to and If Mr..
Lloyd George had agreed.
So we are blocking the traffic. Does not it
seem to you a curious way of blocking the
traffic when We were able to import from
abroad in two years As billions worth of goods
more than we exported?
Does it not seem to you if we had been
very good customers of our English and Amer
lean friends? The fact was we were full of
hope and trust in the future. We marched cour-
ageously forward. We believed in the cooper
alton of peace following on the cooperation of
war; were ready to play our part in the
world concert and to work at the establish
ment of better civilization for which we had
been fighting.
But 10 and behold, suddenly our friends of
yesterday put US aside ana Degln 10 want 10
raise up Germany. Why? This remains a
mystery. And if we try TO fathom it, get
the terrible words thrown at our head: You
are blocking the traffic. What is blocking the
traffic is the uncertainty for the morrow in
which France is unjustly placed.
If tomorrow it is definitely decided that the
Versailles treaty is to be strictly carried out
everything will at be put straight. Ger
many will stop sending her capital abroad she
will stop organizing her bankruptcy and depre-
cating the mark, and she will hasten to return
10 normal life. She will count on nothing but
her work.
And France knowing her position and being
certain of what she count in the future
Will Immediately return to normal life, her life
as good customer in the world!