The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-24


 that really count as an international liability If the total wealth of France, as some claim, amounts to as much as one hundred billions of dollars. this debt is only seven per cent of the whole.
 Again, inasmuch as the above sum of fifty billions was figured at the pre-war value of the franc, which is worth much less than half as much TOW, the fortythree odd billions re- maining. payable in francs, must be cut nearly twothirds to get the pres ent actual value of the domestic debt in good hard American dollars. This would reduce 1t to about fifteen bil- lions. or nine billions less than the twenty-four billion dollars which Uncle Sam owes you and me. These are all in round numbers. I do not vouch for their accuracy, but it seems to me the point of view may be the same as that of some of my other friends on the street.
 We May Yet Morrow of France
 And now just one word as to France before 1 show how Germany, that arch-juggler of national finan- ces. Is camouflaging her true situa- ton and escaping scot free. The thrift of the French, while the best of mankind is drunken with spend ing, is likely to make her the rich est of nations. She is eeonomizing in every possible way, while we Yam kees are tossing our dollars into the air so that they drop down like rain. Take the matter of automo- piles. France goes abouteon leather shoes and often in clogs. America me -t.; ;<.t. costs from fifteen to seventy-five dollars, and carries other expenses that lead to the rough path of pov-, erty. The business street of every American city has a fence on each side. the golden piekets of which con sist Of automobiles. each worth at least five hundred dollars.
 It Is not true-that we amassed wealth during the war. But it is true that we spent 1t like water. France added to her savings during war time. She was the great spending place of the allies. and if I am cor rectly informed, Uncle Sam alone laid out more than billion and q half gold dollars for war materials here He paid the peasants for all the land he destroyed. and they made money also in supplying the British and other allies. Moreover, the peasants laid up money in the midst of the struggle; they paid off their mort gages, they bought more lands and increased the size of their holdings. Today there, are two million more farm owners in this little republic than in our big one over the water. Deposits in the savings banks have increased and also the number of de- nnSitnrs We In JTnffah States a little more than eleven mill lion men, women and children who have deposits incur savings banks. This is the figure for 1920. In 1918 France had less than eight million depositors but she has over 15.000,000 just now. In other words, the French savings depositors have almost dob uled in number within the last three or four years. With our present era of extrava- gant spending I do not see how we can last. If Germany should recoup France by paying the damages she morally and legally owes, France will grow so rich from then on that she will probably soon be lending to us.
 The Crawl-Out-Of Germany
 AS an honest, plain thinking man on the street, find it hard to recon cile the financial conduct of Ger many with that of private business or national honesty. Even before the war broke out. in 1913. Roland c. Usher in his book on n-German- ism, said that the Germans did not care what notes they gave for sup plies. if they could create concrete wealth in the shape of public im- provements, such as railways. muni-