Evening star., 1923-01-05
Washington Observations
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Fifty-two years ago this January
| there was another Franco-German
reparations conference in Paris. or
rather in Versailles, with the French
in the hapless role of the suppliant
for better terms. Paris had capitu-
lated to the victorious German
armies. Bismarck, the iron chan
cellor, was debating what Germany
| intended to be crushing terms to the
| vanquished foe-cession of Alsace and
Lorraine. and an indemnity of one
billion gold dollars ("five milliards of
francs'D. The Germans first de-
manded 100000, but Emperor
William reduced Bismarck's figures
to a round $1,000. 100000. France was
required to consent to the occupation
of her territory by German troops
until tho last centime of the in
demnity was paid. Bismarck calcu-
| lated that the conQuerors heel
would be on the French neck for
the better part of a generation
France paid or everything in five
months. It cost her an extra
\ $40, ,000, 900 to escape the indignity of
German military occupation of
Paris Bismarck's asking price for
that concession was $200,000,000.
Canada is officially repr resented on
the British debt commission about to
open negotiations in Washington.
The Dominion'S spokesman is Lorins
c. Christie, legal adviser to the de-
partment of external affairs at OF
tawa. He was in Washington a year
ago in that capacity, as a member of
the Canadian delegation to the ar
manent conference. 1t is not gem
orally understood that Canada, like
the United States, is one of Great
Britain's creditors The Dominion's $
advances to the mother country dur
ing the world war aggregated a bill
lion dollars-the exact figures are
97.339,901. A vast portion of that
! sum was devoted to transport of the
Canadian expeditionary forces to the
European battlefields, while the resi-
due, for the most part. was spent in
munitions and supplies produced on
Dominion soil. AS there Is still a
substantial balance due the Canadian
treasury, our virfle nelghbors to the
north have a direct interest in the
American British. financial peace
conference now to be convened on
the Potomac. Britain has been pay
ing Canada Off at the rate of $1,000
600 month.
Thanks to the fabulous value of
American dollars in Polish marks,
Prince Eugene Lubomirski, late
Polish minister at Washington, has
recently become the possessor by pur-
chase of huge slice of Polish ter
rttory. Both the prince and his con-
sort were thrifty spirits and. ac-
cording to their friends, put away
their diplomatic income in the United
States, paid in dollars, against the
time they could translate il into the
deprecated coin OF their own realm
When the Lubomirskis quit the le-
cation at Washington, in December,
moreover. there is understood to have
been duo them at Warsaw seven or
eight months back pay--in dollar
valuation. With the combined treas
ure in Polish marks. plus the results
OF sales of the princes ancestral eS-
tates In Austrian Poland, where he
formerly lived, he has bought gigan-
tic tracts in what was formerly Ger
man Poland. He now purposes living
the life of a landowner and lord of
domains exceeding in area the
realms of the richest kings of ancient
Poland. The LubomirskiS have left
their eldest son. Eugene. in New
York, where he is studying American
banking methods. A younger son is
at oxford.
X * X X
Washington's most wonderful COL
lection of autographed photographs
adorns the walls of John Hays Ham