Evening star., 1922-12-17
ALLIED ARMIES
DRAIN GERMANY
Macmillan Harden Declares
Withdrawal Is Only Solu-
/. ton of Preparations.
BREEDING new HATREDS
Money Spent in Supporting Troops
He Says, Would Go Far to
Paying Debts.
ny MAMMALIAN HARDEN,
Germany's Foremost Publicist.

Germany's Foremost Pubitc1st.
ny Cable to The Star.
BERLIN, December 16.-There can
be no peace, no settlement between
France and Germany until the allied
armies of occupation are withdrawn
from German soil. These armies, in
their prodigal tastes, are eating up
all that Germany can afford to pay.
There can be no solution of the
reparations question by military force.
France must and shall receive what
she rightfully deserves. but the means
of paying cannot be organized under
foreign control.
Day by day the purchasing power of
the mark declines. 1t must be PLAIN
TO our bitterest enemies that the con-
ditions of financial ruin here make 1t
impossible for Germany to pay eN-
orbitant debts with official world
standards of payment.
Yet her creditors try to force Ger
many more and more to unproductive
payments-proof of their blind i'm
prudence. Few persons realize the
extent of the burden of the armies of
occupation. The German people. how
over, loudly complain of this crushins s
weight laid on the new German re-
public.
Swallows Up Billions.
The building of new and the refit-
ting of old barracks have been de-
manded time after time. Hundreds
of German schools have been closed
TO their pupils and turned into Offices
and quarters for occupation purposes
and the control commissions. The
best rooms in innumerable private
houses have been demanded from the
owners and the pay of troops. officers
and commissions, together with eN-
travagant demands for the CoStliest
furniture have swallowed. as every
body must realize. many billions of
marks. Yet none Of this has gone
to France in the way of reparationS.
Let me set down just n few of the
things the allies have demanded. In
the last eighteen months they have
demanded and obtained complete fur
nishings for 10000 bedrooms. 5000
dining rooms. $500 studies. 1,400
drawing rooms, 2.9O0 club armchairs.
$3.50 beds, 500 ladies' writing tables.
500 dressing tables. 10000 glasses for
white wines. 81 900 glasses for red
wines. $4,000 glasses for port, $4,000
glasses for champagne and $4,000
small glasses for liquors.
Breeding Hatred.
Germany must pay for all this de-
spite the tremendous prices prevail
ing-the same Germany in which
thousands of engaged couples are
forced to postpone their marriages
because dwelling are unobtainable
and they are unable to pay for even
the poorest furniture.
Do not the victorS realize wnat a
perilouS amount OF hatred is being
accumulated in the hearts of these
people. who. of course, do not reflect
that the army of occupation does not
wish to give up it's habitual comforts? ?
Do they not realize to what extent
they are lessening the possibility of
reparations payments and how much
they are increasing the difficulties of
out ali seeds of hatred. desiring first
mutual understanding between
France and Germany and afterward
throughout all Europe?
1t is shrieked to the German people
from all sides that the continued oc-
cupation of the Rhine betrays an in
teI.sion on the part of France to
crush Germany. On top of this comes
the French book entitled ''Occupa-
tion ct Liberation du Territoire."
which proves by its own testimony
that from 1871 to 1852 the German
army of occupa ton in France avoided
every unnecessary oppression of the
defeated French and despite the win
ter's cold quartered its officers in
wooden barracks to free private
houses and hotels of this heavy
burden
Those who look foresightedly must
realize the terrible danger of future
wars inherent in an occupation whose
representatives, though doubtless
only continuing their accustomed way
of living. seem to the oppressed Ger
man middle classes to be revelling
and feasting like Maharajahs.
Any international pact guarantee
ing the safety of Frances frontiers
should demand the evacuation of all
foreign troops in Germany. This
would be a great step toward Euro
pean pacification Even the best of
troops become demoraliZed when liv-
ing in a cultured land more luxuri-
ouS1y than the natives and with the
opportunity to speculate in goods and
money.
The most effective speeches of
Tiger" Clemenceau and Premier
Poincare will not preserve their
country from suspicion, SO long as the
occupation lasts, that French pre-
dominance on the continent is more
important to them than disarmament
and real peace.
Hasn't the 'reparatfonS problem
produced enough economic confusion
during the last four years and isn't
1t time that d solution was here?
Yet, as say. it can never be obtained
by present military methods Ger
many cannot find dozens of billions of
can Germany lame the Industries of
other countries by tremendous ex-
ports, nor yet mortgage her woods
and mines and railways.to a foreign
and not friendly power.
Chance for Solution.
But Germany could entrust these
guarantees in part or wholly for 4
limited time to corporation includ-
ing Germany'S industry, agriculture,
commerce. banks and insurance COM
panies, who. without foreign control,
would take care of the reparations
debt. This would at least be step
forward awaiting the day when the
people recognize that lasting heal
ing is only possible by cooperation.
President Harding rightly said in
his last message that no nation can
take from another it's burden of re-
sponsibiliry. IL the German people.
with their industrial apparatus intact
and their working energy aroused.
pledged their entire wealth for rea-
sonable reparations. they would prove
their feeiing of responsibility and un-
questionable good faith, and il this
difficult task succeeded-and of that
there is no resonable doubt-the Ger
man uation would prove itself worthy
OF credit and do more toward the
stabilization OF it's money than any
outside manifestation possibly could.
Negation ana groanings can only
dcpreciate our exchange still further.