The Washington herald., 1922-07-02

ditef te CohciuSioh OF peace, 10 set 10 Work 10
repair the damage? 1t was a perfectly genuine
and practical proposal Picked German workers
ready to provide both the material and the
labor needed to rebuild the destroyed houses and
to repair, as far possible. the rest of the war
damage. Why was it not donel Why, il the
feelings of the local inhabitants did permit Of
the bodily presence Of the abhorred Boches even
in an act of servitude, the Germans not per-
mitted to supply at least the materials which
French workmen might put in place! The ques-
ton has not perhaps been put in sufficiently un-
diplomatic language; It certainly has not been
answered The answer commonly suggested is
that the French government had not the money
with which to pay them, so the work remained
undone. If this be not the correct answer, it
would be interesting to know what the correct
answer is.
"We do not put the point in any hostile spirit.
We merely cite it illustration of the absolute
need of frankness. The necessity of France is
of course very great. She has never balanced her
budget, indeed we ourselves have not yet
honestly succeeded in doing. But she has done
what we have done. She has counted
resoutely on the payment of great indemnity
to make good the enormous hole in her finances.
At the same time she has made the payment Of
even moderate indemnity difficult, or impossible,
by demanding with violence the payment of an
nordinate one. She has neither reduced her ex-
penditure nor adequately increased her taxation.
The French people, at least the moneyed
classes in France, extremely ntoleran of direct
taxation, and neither during the war nor since
have they had It in a degree comparable with
that imposed and paid in this country. At the same
time vast army, an army enormously greater
than any present dangers justify, is kept up
war footing and huge are wasted in
rIfhat - nd aa4 10 II
venturer after another-Denikin, Kotchak, and the
resin vain and ruinous attacks on Russia.
That particular folly has now ceased, but
the others remain, and still French statesmen re-
fuse to grapple eourageously with the mischiefs
which come within their control while relying
as before on the payment of impossible ndemnities
Let it not for a moment be supposed that the
British people do not view with the utmost SYM
pathy the position of their neighbors. 1t would
be nhuman if they did not, but that is no reason
why should be blind to what to US at least
appear to be the gravest mistakes. The entente
or at least the desire for the friendly understand
ing which the term denotes, remains as strong
as ever, and the Paris papers which comment on
the Verdun celebrations in London are perfectly
right in so interpreting them. But in order to
make these desires effective there must be some
thing more than sympathy; there must be under
standing and some approach to agreement That
is why frankness, frankness which is the very
basis of friendliness is much needed 1t may be
that conciliaton of ideas is at present possible
In that case we shall have to wait for time is =
great instructor But the object in view must
never be lost sight of. Is is the restoration of
friendship resting some approach at least
to common policy and common ideals. These are
the only basis of good relations between
states"