davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

country . problem not incapable
Of wise solution over the next flve
years.
The reparation commission have
assessed the treaty claims At lss
milliard gold marks. Of which 1s2
billiards are for pensions and dam
age and six milliards for Belgian
debt. They have not stated In
what proportion the 1ss milliards
are divided between pensions and
damages. My own assessment OF
the treaty claims Ii ITO milliards,
Of which ssventy-four milliards are
for pensions and allowances. thirty
milliards for damage and six
milliards for Belgian debt.
Thlrty-six milliards aro probably
within Germsny's Theoretical
capacity to pay. I should limit my
revision a the treaty to this sim
PIE strolIS Of tho pom. Let the
present assessment Of 13S nilliard
gold marks b, replaced By thirty.
six millisrd gold marks.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
Benefit Of France.

But In return. the British EN-.
pire and the United States should
guarantee to France and Belgium
all reasonable assistance. short Of
warfare. In securing satisfaction
for their reduced claims; while
Germany should guarantee the
complete de-militarisation Of her
territory west of the Rhine.
IL II in tho interest Of France
to accept this settlement II It IL
combined with further conces-
sions from Great Britain and the
United States by the cancellation
of her debts to them. It II over
whelmingly In her interest.
What II her present balance
sheet Of claims and liabilities?
She IL entitled to Sc per cent Of
what Germany pays. have cal
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
Poland's Probation.

have rsssrvSd shove out Of the
claims OF Great Britain = sum Of
1.oos,ooo gold MARKS. With the Oh
jsct not that she should retain
this sum for hsrssif but that she
should use II TO- ease ths financia
problems Of TIVE states for which
she has . certain responsibility.
Austria and Poland
Austria's problems are well
knswp and attract . general sym
pathy. -
She has no army. ana ~ virtue
Of the depreciation Of her money.
q triling internal debt. Too much
help may make her . lifelong beg
gar: but . little win raise her
from dependency Snd render her
financial problem No longer ~
yond solution.
My proposal. then. II to cancsl
the debts she owes to foreign gov.
ernmehts, including empty claims
to reparation. and to givs her q
comparatively small sum out Of
the milliard gold marks reserved
from British claims on Germany.
Credits placed at her disposal in
Berlin. equivalent in value to soc..
600, 900 gold marks, to be available
a. required over . period Of five
years. might b enough.
For the other new States. the
cancellation Of debt owing, and. In
the case Of Hungary. OF PREPARATION
claims should b. enough. except
for Poland.
Poland. too, must b given .
possible problem. Her main prob
lem can BE- solved only by time
and the recovery Of her neighbors.
deal here only with the urgent
questions Of making just possible
for her q reorganization Of cur
rency and Of facilitating . peace
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
Good Plan Needed.

some contemporary plans for
the reconstruction Of Europe err
In being too paternal or too COM
piicated. Also. sometimes, in be-
Ing too pessimistic.
Therefore . good plan must be
In the main negative; 1t must con-
sist In getting rid Of shackles. in
Nn,paifying the situation. in can
ceiling futile but injurious en-
tansiements At present every
one 10 faced by obligations which
they cannot meet.
Until the problem set to the
finance ministers of Europe is a
possible one, there can be- little
incentive to energy or to the
exercise OF skill.
In their main substances. my
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

ridiculous. IL was known to have
no relation to the truth. IL sound.
ed like . scream Of anger and ir.
ritation, and correspo0dhgly
weakened US.
When tho lever was jerked back
and the propaganda machine was
suddenly reversed. when exactly
the same printing presses which
had just been pouring out unani-
nous acres Of assertion that the
Irish claim was fantastic and that
our politicians would never yield
began to pour out suddenly as
many contradictory acres that the
Irish claim was as sensible az 1t
was noble, and that the capitulat-
ing of our politicians added i'm
perishable glory to Great Britain.
the foreigner WAS impressed very
oddly indeed. while domestic
opinion remained unchanged.
MAKE ENGLAND A JOKE.
One may sum the situation up
by saying that the machine, which
is still grinding out its nonsense
upon every department Of foreign
affains, is either running at a
waste because 1t tells people what
they think already or at a loss
because 1t tells people something
which they won't believed Or
what 10 far mors important--it 10
producing direct and very great
evil to England by strengthening
it's rivals abroad and rendering
British policy ridiculous.
Take the example Of Upper
Silesia.
The mass of Englishmen knew
nothing about Polish Silesia. and
cared less. When they were told
that the Germans had made its
industry (which was true). and
that they had owned" the Poles
for nine centuries (which was
ignorant, false, and, further. not
to the point, they said to them
selves. mo doubt" and passed on.
Abroad the effect was stupefy-
ing! 1t fortified that growing con-
viction-which has cost England
such a heavy moral price In all
her recent negotiations-that the
great foreign office tradition OF
England was over. 1t made neu-
trail and antagonistic Europe think
that England's public men were
negligible and their illusions on
European conditions 40 childish
that the British could be handled
at will.
The consequences are still fresh
In all mems memories. The in
dustrial Silesian field was divided
in favor Of Poland. England's SOL
emn promise to support the Ger
mans had to be broken. and this
most important point In British
foreign policy collapsed.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

way to the French and Belgians
It would find its way to England
and to those resident in England.
In such . conflict Of interests.
arguments that should appeal both
to Ensland's opponents in the mat
ter and to the neutral world
would have been of service. Some
such arguments have been used
very rarely-and their great effect
il the proof Of how valuable truth
and clear thinking can be in these
affairs. For instance. when Mr..
Garvin referred to the unemploy-
ment in our great cities as "our
devastated. areas" and when Lord
Derby repeated this striking meta
phor 1t was of great effect upon
neutral opinion. What 10 more i'm
portant, 1t affected French and
Bsaldan opinion. The phrase was
repeated everywhere, and repeated
with respect. 1t had a tangible
result.
Compare with such a valuable
truth the parrot cry that 1.-The Ger
mans cannot pay" the supporting
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

in foreign eyes or no IL quite un-
important. That II an issue
which can safely be left to any
ono with . sane judgment of
human motives. may further
be told that the ultimate test be-
tween. nations II not words. but
acts: In which case the energy
wasted on such imbecilities could
at least be used to more practical
ends. But the truth 10 that the
moral effect Of folly is very great
indeed. and that though acts rather
than words determine the fate of
nations. the mood In which acts
are conducted 10 all important.
Folly IL the worst preparation
for battle.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
MAYNARD KEYNES SAYS withdraw All Troops from Germany
And Reduce Indemnity 100000 Gold Marks Promote

justsd ~ nutuai as.ss0sut -
tween hsrsslf and Franco.
Italy would gain imnsnssiy.
She " entitled to 10 pr cent q
the receipts under the London
settlement ttoSethsr, With seme
claims on probisuaatioal rsosipts
from Austria 'snd Bulgaria>; that
II 10 say. S3e.ovo.ooo god snsTis
pes annum on assumptSon ~ and
$50. 100000 On assumption ~.
But these sums are far below the
annual charge Of her obligations
toward the United Kingdom and
the United States. which, cen.
yerted into gold marks on the
same basis - that shove employed
In the case OF France. amount
to 1000. 100000 sold marks Per
annum. ,r''l
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

oulated what this win BE- under
the London settlement. ~ on the
basis Of German exports ut the
rate Of 9 milliards. namely. SIS
milliard gold marks: and Cb) on
the basis OF exports ut the rate Of
10 milliards. namely 40 miilard
gold marks. Frances share. there
fore. 10 1.sS billiards per annum
on assumption ~. and 2.3s mil
lizards on. assumption (b). On the
other hand. she owes the United
States Sa,s3%,0oo.o00 and the
United Kingdom fbb7.ooo.ooo ster-
ling.
II these sums DO converted into
gold marks at par. and the annual
charge ON them IL calculated ats
per cent for interest and per cent
for. sinking fund. her liability u
1.48 miiliards per annum.
That y to say, II Germany pays
In full. and II the more favorable
assumption o. u adopted ~ to
the growth Of her exports. the
most for which France can hope
under existing arrangements u .
net sum Of 81 millard gold marks
Der snnum.' Whereas. under the
revised scheme. she win not only
b entitled TO . greater sum,
namely los miilard gold marks
psr annum; but inasmuch ~ she
win b accorded . priority on Ger
many's available resources. and
a. the total charge 10 within Ger
many's capacity. she may reason
ably expect to be paid.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

planned below, ana should under.
take to square the claims of Italy
and the minor claimants BY can
collation. Of debt owing from them;
thus leaving Germany TO pay -
millisrds to France and . miliiards
to Belgium. a.,
This sum should b discharged
by, IN annual payment Of per
cent Of the sum due being & per
cent interest and ! per cent sink.
Ing fund over thirty yssrs.
In 20 far - II proves convenient
to discharge this liability IN goods.
and not In cash, % much the bet
ter. But I see no, advantage in
laying stress on this. It would be
wiser to leave Germany to find the
money - best she can, any pay
mont in goods being By mutual
agreement. ~ In the wissbaAsn
plan.
It may lead, however. TO great
anomalies 70 ftx the annual pay
msnts In terms Of gold over 20
long . period a. thirty years. II
gold prices tall. the burden may
become intolsrabls. II gold prices
rise. the claimants may BE- cheated
Of their expectations. The annual
payment should b adjusted. there
fore. by soms impartial authority.
with references to an index num-
bsr Of the commodity value Of gold.
The other treaty change relates
to the occupation.
II would promote peacsabls 70
lstions In Europe II, - . part Of
the now settlement, the allied
treops were withdrawn altogether
from German tssritosy. and Ill
rights Of invasion for whstsver
purpose waived. except ~ leave
Of . majority vote 81 the League
Of Nations.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
New Heart Test
BY Mechanical
Record of Energy

AN astonishing example Of the
principle Of turning swords
into ploughshares was explained
to the Royal Society In London
by Lieutenant Colonel Head, q
doctor Of the air service. who
has had much to do with the
testing and training ~of the senses
and organs Of airmsn.
One day during the war he was
taking airmen's weight on a
broken down penny-in-the-slot ma
chino when he noticed that the
dial hand moved UP and down in
time with the beating Of the
heart. Every heart beat pushed
the body outwards, a. It were.
and showed q definite recoil Of
the body. It occurred to him
that, therefore, the exact energy
Of the heart could be tested by
any machine delicate enough to
take and record the force i'm.
parted to tho body by the blood
movements.
He and Major Tucker finally
found such an instrument in the
microphons used for sound rang
ing-that 10, finding the locality
whore certain sounds. especially
gunfire. were produced. This ma
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

Britain 70 the United States. which
IL excluded from the shows figures.
The above proposals. Tor cancs'la|
ton relate solely to the debts
owing b. the goysrnmsnts Of Con-
tinsntal Europe 70 The govern
meats Of Greet Britain and the
Unitsd otatsa-.
Lst ~ inquire int the ssat1-
msnts and emotions which under
lie the American attitude to tie
European debts. They want to b
generous to Europe. But they
don't want to b done" Times,
too, have been bad and taxation
oppressive: and many parts Of
America do not feel rich enough
at the, moment to favor = light
abandonment Of . possible asset.
Nevertheless. since time presses.
We cannot rely ON American assist-
ance. and We must do without It
II necessary.
II America does net feel ready
t. participate In . cosisreace q
revisioa anA reconstructioa. Great
Britain. should b prepared 70 eas.
Gel paper claims. irrespective Of
similar action By ths United
States.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

able intsrcourss bstwssa herself
and Germany.
For this purpose I would assign
to her the heiancs Of the reserved
,niliiard. namely. 7eo.oeo, 900 gold
marks. Of which the annual In
tsrsst should - available 70 her
Internationally. but ef which the
capital should b employed only for
currency rsotganisatioa. under
conditions 70 b approved By the
United States and Great Britain.
IN it,. essentials this scheme u
very simple. ! think that It salts
fies my criterion Of isavins every
finance minister In Europe with .
possible problem.
Who are the losersf Even on
paper-faS moro In reeiity-svsry
continental country gains IN ad-
vantage. But on paper the United
States and the United Kingdom
are losers. What u each Of them
giving upf
Under the London Settlement
Great Britain II entitled to - per
cent Of the receipts. which b from
10 70 1.o1o million gold marks per
annum. according to which as
sumption - adopted ~ to the VOL
ums Of German exports. She 10
owed by various European govern
msnts Gnciuding Russia) 1900, 900.
900 pounds. which at s per cent
for interest and sinking fund II
los 900. 900 pounds per annum. On
paper she would forego these
sums. nay 100000 pounds per
annum. altogether. In actual fact
her prospects Of this amount are
remote.
The United States would forego
on paper . capital sum q about
$500 million dollars. which, At 8
per cont. represents an annual
charge Of $3.50, 900. 900.
This scheme IL In no way con-
csrned with the debt Of Great
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
No German Menace.

I hope, too, that France will for.
get her dangerous ambitions In Cen.
trial Europe and will limit strictly
those In tho Near East; for both are
based on rubbishy foundations and
viii bring her no good. That she
has anything to fear from Germany
in the future which we can foresec,
except what she may herself provoke.
10 . delusion.
When Germany has recovered her
streagth and pride. - she will, many
years must pass before she again
casts her oyos westward. Gsrlnany's
: future new lies to the East, and In
that direction her hopes and smbi.
lions. when they revive. win Ger.
tainly turn.
This settlement must b offered
France On ono condition only-that
ahe accepts Il. But n, IKE Shylock.
she claims her pound Of flesh. then
lot the law prevail. Let her have
her bond, and 'et US have cur bonds.
too. Let her e, what she can from
Germany and pay whist she owes -
the United States and England.
The chief question for dispute 10.
perhaps, whether an annual pay.
ment by Germany Of $4,000. 900
pounds (sol6 is enough. I ad.
nit that payment Of . somewhat
larger sum may prove to be within
her capacity.
But I recommend this figure b.
cause on the one hand Il ID sui.
ficient 70 restore the destruction
done In France. yet on the other
b not 10 crushing that, 70 make
Germany pay Il. We need to invade
Der every spring and autumn.
We must fx the payment 1t IN
amount which Germany herself
win recognise - not unjust. and
which p sufficiently within her
maximum capacity to leave her
soinc incentive 70 work and pay
Il off.
Tho project Of extracting ~ the
point Of the bayonet . payment 80
heavy that II would never be paid
voluntarily, and 70 30 ON doing this
unth all the makers Of, tho peace
treaty Of Versailles have been long
dend and buried In thcir local Val.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
~ U.iversal Service.
LONDON, March

~HERE Ia a great probability
that the mails between Eng
land and Ireland will soon
DO carried by air. A leading Ma
tionalist paper strongly advocates
an air line. as this would save
hours In Communication between
London and Dublin or Belfast, as
we'll az other important Irish
towns.
Tho time taken by the English
postoffice to deliver mails by
present methods are. roughly:
London to Belfast. $50 miles,
twelve to fourteen hours.
London to Queenstown. 400
miles, fourteen hours.
London to Dublin, $40 miles,
nine hours.
With an average speed of
eighty miles an hour for an air
mailplane seven or eight hours
would be saved to Belfast or
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
Europe steadier.

Two years ago the treaty, which
outraged justice, mercy and Wis
dom, represented the momentary
win Of the victorious countries.
Would tho victims b. patient?
Or would they be driven by despair
and privation to shake society's
foundations? We have the answer
now. They have been patient.
The communities Of Europe are
settling down to . new equilib-
rum. We are almost ready to
turn our minds from the avoid
ancs Of calamity to the renewal
Of health. 50.
1t, II only . slight exaggeration
TO say that no parts Of the peace
treaties have been carried out
except those relating to frontiers
and to disarmament.
There has been . third factor,
the fact that It II In times Of grow
Ing profits and not In times Of
growing distress that tho work.
Ing classes stir themselves and
threaten their masters. When
times are bad and poverty presses
on them they sink back again into
. weary acquiescence.
Great Britain and all Europe
learned this In 1921.
1t 10 the profiteer. not privation,
that makes man shake his chains.
In spite, therefore. Of trade de-
pressions and disordered ex-
changes. Europe. under the sur
face, IL much stabler and much
healthier than two years ago. The
organization. destroyed by war,
has been partly restored; trans
port, except in Eastern Europe, IL
largely repaired; there has been .
good harvest everywhere but IN
Russia, and raw materials are
abundant.
Great Britain and the United
States and their markets overseas
udNo ouhlctcu = CyChChi liuClu-
alton OF trade prosperity Of q
greater amplitude than ever be-
fore; but there are indications
that the worst point is passed.
Two obstacles remain. The
treaty. though unexecuted, is not
revised. And that part of organi.
Eation. which consists in, currency
regulation. public finance and the
foreign exchanges. remains nearly
80 bad rs 1t ever was. In most
European countries there is still
no proper balance between the ex-
penditure of the state and its in
come, 20 that imitation continues
and the international values of
their cuyencies are fluctuating
and uncertain.
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

suggestions are not novel. The
now familiar project Of the can
collation., in part or In their en-
tirety. OF the PREPARATION and inter
allied debts. is . largo and un-
avoidable feature Of them.
So Tar. repsration on = largo
scale has not been collected from
Germany. SO far. tho Allies have
not paid interest to tho United
States on what they owe. Our
present troubles. when they are
not attributable to the after
effects Of war and the cyclical de-
preston Of trade. are due. there
fore. not to the endorsement Of
these claims. but to the uncer-
families Of their possible enforce
ment.
It follows. therefore, that mere
ly to put off the problem will do
US no good. That IL what we
have been doing for two years
already. Even to reduce our
reparation demands to Germany's
maximum actual capacity and
really force her to pay them.
might make matters worse than
they are.
To write down internally debts
by half and then try to collect
them would be an aggravation.
not q cure, Of tho existing diff
culties.
The solution, therefore. must not
be one which tries to extract tho
last theoretical penny from every.
body: It's main object must be to
set the finance ministers Of every
The Washington times., 1922-03-12

ineptitude that the reparations can
only be paid In the shape Of direct
exports from Germany to Belgium
and France. and the still more fan
tastic supporting ineptituds that
what Germans can export 10 to be
measured Ivy what they choose to
export-after consuming all they
choose to consume.
Why do not those who proffeI
these repotitions in place OF argu-
ment consider for q moment the
effect which they produce abroad?
RETORT TO KEYNES.
They are saying that q nation
possessed Of some $1,000. 900 actual
and 10000. 900 potential productive
human units. using the best mod
ern machinery. and working in q
country where not q factory has
been destroyed nor q mine touched.
cannot produce q surplus value Of
Flo q worker In a year! They are
saying that the surplus values now
consumed as Injuries by the we'll
TODD throughout the Reich are
necessaries.
Mr.. Keynes argument. and that
Of all those who follow him, h tha4
the gentleman cannot pay his
debts because he must have box
1t the opera. They are saying that
Germans producing . locomotive
and sending Il 10 the ArEentane,
the cargo Of wheat exchanged
against that locomotive cannot 20
to France or Belgium. but must
by some mysterious law-go part
Of II to England and part to the
Germans.
They are saying that not the
Argentine. but France. must take
the locomotives or not. They arc
also saying. incidentally. that tho
cheaper . nations imports the
better. and yet that Gift-import
which actually costs nothing
would be ruinous. They cheer
fully admit that the French and
Beigians can easily rebuild their
own ruins. but that It u physi.
cally impossible for the aggressors
to rebuild them. ,....
The perpetual repetition Of such
things 10 ruipous to the reputa-
ton Of the nation unjustly rem
dered responsible for It. / may
be told that all traders, financiers
and taxpayers--especisiiy those Of
America,-ars equally interested
with Britons In preventing rspa-
ration and destroying the armies
that alone can compel repsration
to be made. That 10 true--but II
In an argument for silence or for
putting tho case well. not for
playing the fool.
may be told that moral forces
are negligible. and that whether
the British are rendered ridiculous
The Washington times., 1922-03-12
KEYNES INDEMNITY VIEWS
"RU1NOUS GREAT REPUTATION

"Mr. Keynes Argument, and That of All
Those Who Follow Him, Is That the
Gentleman Germany Cannot Pay His
Debts Because He Must Have a Box at
the Opera-They Are Saying That the
Cheaper Nations Imports the Better,
and Yet That Gift, Import Which Actu-
ally Costs Nothing, Would Be Ruinous.'