Evening star., 1922-02-19
FRENCHuSTRUSI
/ SOVIET RELATIONS
tTardleu Cites Failure of u. S.
i. to Recognize Lenfn
Government
NO GOLD AND NO GOODS
Declares Question Of European Pol
itics Has Arisen and Cannot
Il Be Dodged.
NO GOLD AND NO GOODS
nv ANDRE TARDIEU,

BY ANDRE TARDIEU.
Fsrner French High CSnntssioner 70
America.
By oable to The Star.
PARIS, February 1s-The great
AA&io-French debate over the date OF
the Genoa conference seems to ne
suietins down. Undeserved prom1-
nence it got. Before taking leap
which would have placed US all face
to face with Lenin. soviet dictator. II
was ouitA excusahle that we should
look twieA
The aues0on Of European relations
with the sov1ets has arisen. however,
and cannot be lodged. Those Frencn-
men who sympathize with Moscow's
ideas-the communist party, which
exists for nothing else. and certain
bourgeois who pride themselves o,, o,,
tbeir nropressiyism-alleg that sucn
a rapnrochement would not be peril
Gus. They assert that the golden ago
Will return to Europe when the hus-
sian market opened up.
Remains to BE Proved.
This is all very >sanring. but 1t re-
mains to tG proved
Economically the rsepenlng OF the
Russian market Is not go sinpl
what can Russia sell? She has no
factories, no crops, no railroads
Where are Russia's horses, ana
cattle and tools? After the 1ev-
astating famine, where IS neF iaooi'
and in what condition?
Tremendous reconstruction is neeo-
ed in Russia 1t will cost billions.
Where are the billions?
Germany alleges her inability 20
nay even two billion marks a year IN
reparation Great Britain declares
she will not remit a penny to her
European debtors unless the onit@
States first RENTS Great Hltaiu
debt. The United States has votea
a law for the collection OF every ooiSS
33S billion francs. with a budgeI OF
Is billion francs. plus a dozen oli1oh
francs for reconstruction and pen
SionS.
Money Hard to Find.
Therefore 1 fear the money for
Russia will be hard to find Inc olu
proverb says a scalded cat fears NOT
water. French thrift cropped twenty
billions IN Czarist Russia
The situation as to Russia is haroiy
reassurinE when tomorrows woulo
be borrowers openly announce tna'
no promise made to oourSeciS sos
ernment is binding. The MuscovItes
paper interviews, but in the Hood OF
words one finds neither precise prom
ise nor positive engagements.
Furthermore, we know that whlle
they are coming to Genoa to norroW
our money, the so-called people
commissaries will not renounce
purpose to sow revolution among US.
last week we published here ooishe
vism's plan for action among tne i1
ajtd sea forces of France ana Irede
left undone in a great work OF ois-
-ereanization. Every month SUD
ventions come from Moscow to the
communist papers Of various couh-
tries. Last year krassin soieas my
promised Lloyd George that the So
yiets would attempt no further propa-
ganda in British Asiatic possessions;
hut this propaganda has never ceaseo
for one moment.
Fears Their Propaganda.
Make no mistake. The soyiets will
take our money if we let them and
then, with these new resources, they
will scatter their seeds of revolution
to the four corners of the earth.
This explains why many French
men watch Genoa's approach without
enthusiasm.
French opinion has been greatly
Impressed by the American govern
ment's persistent refusal to recognize
the soviets. The Americans are re-
garded as commonsense people
whose attitude on this question is
worthy of consideration.
America shows an extreme distrust
of Russia which We share. One
opinion confirms the other. In short,
the great majority of Frenchmen be-
Iieve that nothing good will come
from contact with the soviets. The
future will say whether we are mis-
taken.