San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-16
GERMANY IS !.
!. CRUSHED BY
F. NEW DEFEAT.
f'f,-
End Of Passive Resistance
Comes Like Blow Of
1918 Armistice.
FRANCE in TRIUMPH
thousand Curses Rained
on Cuno for Destruc-
tive Policy.
FRANCE in TRIUMPH
By MAXIMILIAN HARDEN.

October, 1918, is here again-too earl
by the calendar, but much too lat
for Germany. The German dream o
victory burst like a bubble five year
ago, and the people realize trembling
ly how they had been deceived.
Won Moltke had prophesied the ca
tastrophe in the sixth month of tn
war, but the truth was concealed from
the people until the end. The situa
ton has been precisely the same since
January of this year.
Until few weeks ago anybody wht
ventured to doubt Frances defeat IL
the Ruhr was regarded as coward, 8
defeatist, a traitor or ridiculous fool
Only q few days ago any reference
to the necessity of modifying or aban
doning passive resistance was sharply
rejected on every side.
Then suddenly the veil was rent and
the German people. betrayed again
saw the ugly, naked truth. In 191s
the alarm came from German great
HEADQUARTERS. This time it comes
from the ministers of finance and eco
Monies.
Ultimatum Finally Accepted.
1t can be readily understood that
the German people would not view
French invasion of their most impor-
tant industrial district with the pa
thence Of lamb. But it was the gov
ernment's duty to calculate what was
necessary and what was possible and
to say openly that invasion was pos
sibility to be reckoned with.
The Berlin government sent the
press on May 8, 1921, a communlca-
ton IN which was the following SEN
tence: Occupation of the Ruhr, which
is threatened in the London ultimatum,
could be decided upon IL Germany
promises what is demanded and then
for any reason does not keep her prom
ise."
This sentence was intended to dem
onstrate the unacceptability of the
London ultimatum. But different
government accepted it two days Ia
ter and, since then, every German gov
eminent has been compelled to reckon
with invasion in case of voluntary de-
fault. Instead Of anticipating the dan
ger, instead Of offering-at the lat
est,-in December, 1922-reparations
which the memorandum Of June g,
1923, offered, Germany was in a much
worse financial situation.
Chancellor Cuno, in his blindness,
believed he could turn disaster into
triumph and victory. Thousands Of
curses are being rained on this man
daily now, but he can declare truth
fully that from first to last all par
ties, the Parliament and the press,
praised his frivolous policy as "the
only possible one"
Wise Men Foresaw Ruin.
. Politically intelligent men, however,
could not believe for single day in
. the effectiveness Of passive resistance,
Premier Mussolini of Italy called il
~self destruction" and even Lloyd.
George, who has now become the
enemy Of France, declared It could
end only In Germany's collapse OF
|. eapitulation.
I, myself, tried everything I think Of
to ward off this new misfortune, but
in vain. Everybody told me that occu.
patton Of the Ruhr-which would
bring instructive disappointments for
the French and the Belgians-was un'
avoidable, because Germany could
neither deliver the amount of coal de.
manded nor pay two billion marks in
the near future. ] also was told that
no government could negotiate with
France after occupation had taken
place.
What has happened now?
! Germany has been separated from her
richest source of raw materials for
more than six months and compelled
to import at world prices. Industry in
the occupied territory has received i'm
mense credits from the national treas
ury which often were employed for
plant betterments, but oftener for the
buying Of foreign currency and gold
and then were repaid in deprecated
German marks. Thus an industrialist
who received 30,000.000,000 marks in
May used twenty billions 70. buying
dollars and has earned up to now on
every dollar so purchased ninety nine
and two-fifths million marks. The
treasury has also paid a multitude OF
workmen, officials, etc, for remaining
idle or doing unproductive work and
has thus damaged discipline and mo.
rale. The railways in t occupied dis
trict have suffered incalculable dam.
age.
Currency Is Destroyed.
Passive resistance has cost Germany
100000 gold marks daily in the last
few months-a total of at least eight
billion gold marks, which would have
been enough to satisfy the Preparations
commission until 1927. And now
when our currency is utterly destroyed
we must negotiate.
We are facing the danger, TOO. hat
as in Russia, the peasant will tomor
row refuse to accept paper marks anC
will withhold his products and that
among the masses, despair will be fol
lowed by desperation, with strikes anC
plundering.
France, TO complete her victory
needs only declare that, in the houl
when passive resistance is officiall!
ended, all those expelled may return t,
the Ruhr, the military forces will b,
mainly withdrawn, the German off
cials will be reinstated and France viii
be satisfied with invisible control aut
productive collaboration.
Prudence should cause her to dis
pense with any triumphal entry il
chariots and to avoid the weakening
of her debtor a day longer than j,
necessary.