Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-09-13
TWO NATIONS GET
SPOILS OF WAR
AFTER-wAR ASSETS OF GREAT
BRITAIN AND FRANCE

correspondence)- The Paris Temps.
semi-official organ of the French
government, makes an interesting
suggestion for the settlement of the
PREPARATIONS and allied debts questions
1t proposes that the world court con-
slider this proposition: When nations
have been engaged in victorious
war for common cause, and those
which have suffered the most dam
ages for unable to collect full indem-
nifty from the agressor, those nations
which. retained or increased their
wealth as q result Of the struggle
should contribute to the damaged ma
ton an amount equal to the differ
ence between the indemnity collected
and that demanded.
/ The suggestion is intended as an
indirect thrust at the United States.
and is another development in the
ever-present propaganda for the cam
collation. Of the allied debt to this
cuntry. Probably every subject OF
an allied nation believes that the
United States, of all the countries OPP
posed to Germany, emerged from the
war richer than when it entered. In
the sale Of munitions they are con-
WINGED that American citizens became
richer, while they were made poorer,
and that their governments were
hrnfxnht ~ ha ~
while the United States had to cali
on only small frartion of its resour-
ces.
In all the outpourings Of the debt
concelationists, never word is said
of the assets accumulated by Great
Britain and France as result of the
war, and no attempt is made to bal
ance them against the war costs Of
those countries. When this is hon.
estly done it is likely that the Unit
ed States will be found to have sus-
tanned net loss greater than either
Of those nations, and, if the SUCCESS
ton Of the Temps is acted upon, they
mount beyond what they owe us on
would be required to pay US ON
account of loans received.
With no attempt to assign them a
money value, the new after-war as
sets Of Great Britain and France may
be summed up as follows:
/. Former German colonies in At
RIGA and the Pacific Of an area Of a.
bout $4,000 square miles, about four
and half times the size Of France
or more than ten times England,
Scotland, and Wales together, NTH
enormous mineral, agricultural and
animal resources.
2. The destruction of the German
fleet and armies, and the resulting
relief in competition to both Great
Britain and France.
3. The destruction of the German
overseas commerce formerly the chief
competitor Of the British and French.
a. The huge indemnities in gold and
in kind already obtained from Ger
many.
b. The acquisition OF Alsace and
Lorraine by France.
In the face Of those huge accre-
tions it is absurd to say that the
United States profited more than
Great Britain or France from the war
It is equally absurd for the British
and French to claim that their prin-
cipal reason for demanding full re-
parations from Germany is to enable
them to pay their debts to America.
From the wealth to be extracted from
the new territories, those nations can
settle their obligations with ease in
the 62year period granted by the
United States for final payment. Fur
thermore, if Germany we credited
with the value of her former colonies,
as the Philippines we're credited to
Spain in 1898, the solution of the re-
parations problem would be at hand.
md vet there are a LOT of DeofJle