Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-04
BY ANDRE TARDiEU,
Former French High Commissioner
to America.
Copyright. 1922. By The Great Falls Tribune.
Special Gable to The Great Falls Tribune.

Copyright. 1922. By The Great Falls Tribune.
Special Cable to The Great Falls Tribune.
Paris. June 3.-Germany's reply on
the reparations question means moth
ing. Like all German answers since
Germany began replying. it reminds
one Of the ambiguity of the notes that
Wilson received from Berlin prior to
Americas declaration of war.
True, it contains certain promises,
but they are based upon a hypothesis
which may not be realized and thus,
when the day of fulfillment arrives,
Germany can say, II am not committed
to anything"
As / said last week, May 81. although
called the final limit, was not the day
of payment but only a day wherein
Germany must accept or reject the
reparations commission conditions for
continuing the moratorium? These
conditions were chiefly the cessation OF
fiduciary initiation and the expectation
of capital.
Wirth's Note Means Nothing
On the essential points-and the
sterilization of the mark is as essen
tial to Germany as to her creditors
Wirth's note fornulates promises IN
principal but leaves the realization to
further conversations. The creditors
seem to have forgotten that Germany
could not refuse whatever conditions
they judged indispensable to putting
Germany's finances in order. for arti-
Gle 241 of the Versailles treaty stipu-
lates that Germany must modify her
laws, DEGREES and ordinances so as to
assure complete execution of the rep
arations clauses.
Wirth merely declares he will dis
cuss with the reparations commission
what must be done. Thus we find our
selves on the terrain Of conversations
and hypothesis, abandoning the firm
ground Of law as defined by the treaty.
Furthermore, Wirth's note assumes
an international loan which the bank
ers have not got through discussing.
Nothing is less sure than that it will
be granted. The mandate of the bank
ers' committee is very limited and the
loans is a'future placement extremely
difficult to cOnsummate within such
limits. The overwhelming probability
is that the bankers will report the loan
impossible on such conditions and in
that event it is ~undoubable that Wirth,
who accepted the Hermes proposals
only after a long resistance, will take
advantage of the situation to withdraw
his promises.
Realized Two Years Late
That. in my opinion, is the great
drawback to these successive imprOvi-
sions which for two years and a half
have been substituted for the pure,
simple execution of the written con
tract between the parties. In June,
1922. it is realized that fiduciary in
flation and expectation of capital are
a deadly peril to Germany and the allies
alike. why wasn't this realized in
1920? Why wasn't Germany then, by
virtue of article 241, required to take
proper legislative and executive meas
ures TO stop initiation and expectation
of capital. which measures Wirth today
only promises to examine!
Don't be astonished that a French
man asks these questions. for at the
moment of writing France has ad-
vanced 50 billion francs for Germany's
account. The interest on the loans
whereby this money was raised takes
four and a half billion francs annually
from the pockets of the French tax
payers. and before we finish with PEN
sions and reconstruction we will have
80 billions more to spend.