New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-08-08
By Arthur S. Draper

.,.rv and inter-Allied debts were held
,,.day under the auspices of the In
..,.ute of Politics, the first being led
hv Paul D. Cravath and the second by
oxear r. Crosby, former Assistant Sec
ys,sry of the Treasury. They attracted
-. greatest number of members which
Ia. attended one Of these, round tables.
During the discussions the fact that
there is one group in favor of the
cancellation of debts as fundamental
stan in the reconstruction of Europe
and another group which is opposed to
iris action was brought out again with
cen greater emphasis. Another fea-
ssre NJ the discussion was the SYM
usthetic but nevertheless highly criti-
"a, attitude &C some of the speakers
sswsrd the rolicy Of NJ. Poincare. As
bas been the case at previous confer
.nrss the Treaty of Versailles was
,sbiect to sharp attack, especially
dse clauses under which it was pos
sible for the Reparation Commission
70 fix German feparations at about
s.. oo0. oGo. 900, two-thirds of which goes
to the payment of Allied pensions and
separation allowances.
The difficulty of giving an accurate
analysis of discussion Of this kind
lies In the fact that some of the speak
ers do not desire their views published,
and consequently the full significance
of some of the remarks cannot be
brought out. The general Impression
left, however, is that all the interests
represented here are agreed that radl-
esi changes in the German reparation
plan must be made. Mr.. Cravath said:
Beyond Germany's Capacity
"The task imposed upon an already
impoverished Germany of making large
reparation payments in gold on fixed
dates while her imports were bound
largely to exceed her imports was so
far beyond her capacity that even if
the German government had Loyalty
done its utmost the result would not
have been radically different. The
task imposed on Germany was impos-
sible of performance. The stronges st
government with the best intentions
cannot force the German people to
sacrifice, work and save to carry out a
reparation program that they know
will land them in national ruin"
In his opinion the feverish activity
In German production to meet domes-
tic demands. has been due primarily
to the mania of the German people to
convert their marks into tangible prop
erty CT some kind while marks still
have some purchasing power" Mr..
Cravsth declared that "it is generally
recognized in well-informed circles in
Europe" that Germany is now on the
verge of fiscal and financial collapse,
and that unless radical measures are
adopted by concerted action of the
solvent nations Germany may soon 90
the way of Austria" Later in his
speech Mr.. Cravath stated that there
cannot be prosperous Europe with
out prosperous Germany. This is
recognized even in France
Prefacing his remarks with an ex-
preston of sympathy for the French
viewpoint, he stated that "all of the
allied nations excepting France seem
prepared to face a radical reduction
in reparation demands. France alone
stands in the way" While he thought
O. the position of France was unsound
ana fraught with "infnite peril" he
dlc not doubt that most of his audi
enee would believe in that position if
they we're Frenchmen.
Suggest Anglo-U. S. Bloc
Then came the suggestion of an
Ahgio-American bloc put in these
words: "If after Great Britain and the
ohiteo States have offered sympathetic
ana constructive cooperation France
shoaid still insist on pursuing the pol
Iey OF endeavoring to encompass the
economic destruction and political dis
.hseeration of Germany regardless of
r sae enect Of that policy on the rest of
~ EUROPE she could not escape her share
~ suMefing from the general disaster
.ase tne success of her policy would
!. mr.. Cravath expressed the hope that
wouid be realized in France that the
american advocates of "rational
.tsparation program were not seeking
we saerifice of France in the interests
1ermany:" He said that on the con-
they believed that it was in the
OF France that Preparation
hana cans mat are impossible of collection
ebsnd".o1 tnelr magnitude should be
he coiIaeeih favor Of claims that could
ton" OF their modera-
era ni'e ssraaa to the leader there is gen.
for the e ocnna mat no effective plan
rome ana t. regeneration of Eu-
,ope ana the adoption of rat;ona ~
repafatlon program can be- 1900 aI1o nat
sad put into operation w;thoMt ~ ~
s.s uve cooperation of the I1n;tad
49, nes -, He then added that "it does
rono "elp US to preach sermons to En-
bss however sound our sermons nav
@Th.r Ahoiner Of his sentences was:
Of M could be no better illustration
Han "e ., ilsh OF negotiation by proclama-
NM, 'han the unfavorable reception
fanr,. seems TO have been accorded Bal
$40. sa amiao!e note defining the British
siI;;s sIoe regarding the cancellation of
onir debts" He suggested that the
fo.s.,"a way to arrive at decision was
fsr. .ae nations to gather around a CON
thai. with the rmination to do
ns - oese TO understand one another
reach an agreement"
softness" of Bankers
tvs.a eae latter point Mr.. Crosby re-
c. 10 MS suggestion that If flovd
IT, ana Polncare failed to agree
b commission of neutrals should
The hpo.n.eu 10 take up the question.
nsnha ertean representative being a
Il, sI OF the Federal Reserve Board
sssn.i;sossoy contended that the present
II w. position of Germany was due
l., ~ small part to the "softnessu If
ast;aoss hkers regarding money. The in
e ~. Vi the currency he compared
ssass STIMULATING and exhilaratinq
! ia s, " the first dose of morphine with
press;so seqaent period of deep de-
,stsynond Recouly, the Paris editor.
ssna aea with the closest attention to-
7 rssn.s Aeeedingsy frank criticism of the