The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-10-04
OCCUPANCY OF
RUHR COSTLY
TO GERMANY
Deg0utte Says Germany Could
Have Made Her Reparation
Payments for Two Years
MADE WORK FOR ARMY
Declares it was Economic
Mistake for Germans to Pay
Workers for Idling

Dusseldorf, Oct. 4.-Germany has
spent enough money in bolstering up
passive resistance in the Ruhr val
ley since the French troops entered
last January to have made her reg
ular PREPARATIONS payments to the
Allies for two years, declared Gener-
al Degoutte to the correspond
ent of The Associated Press. More
4 over, he said this reckless expendi-
ture should be calculated entirely
apart from the incalculable loss
caused by the economic stagnation
of this once thriving industrial CEN
ter, the direct result of the refusal
of Germany to cooperate with the
occupation forces.
More than 100000 workers."
said the commander of the French
forces, "have now had nice long
eight months vacation with pay, and
naturally they are rather keen to
have the occupation continue; but it
is not difficult to see that this econ
omic fallacy cannot continue indefi-
nitcly."
Judging from the general attitude
of the German population toward the
occupying troops, General Degoutte
said he was fully convinced that if
it had not been for the interference
from Berlin the problem of making
the occupation pay, as we'll as of
keeping the economic fabric of the
Ruhr intact, would have solved it.
self long before now.
Some day." he said, Berlin will
see, as many sensible people in the
Ruhr already see, that the German
government. made a grave economic
mistake in agreeing to pay thousands
OF workers for doing nothing. Leav-
ing aside the ultimate failure Of
this method to Illustrate the effects
OF the occupation, as it is bound to
fail, the idea of pouring out money
to workers for doing nothing is very
bad SOCIOLOGY. 1t will have many
disastrous ramifications. Already
other workers, such as the miners,
have caught the idea of passive re-
sistance to their own employers.
These workers, encouraged by the
fact that their fellow workers. who
have been affected by the occupa-
ton, have been able to leave their
jobs and still receive full nav,
have now adopted the method of GO
ing to their work and spending the
day discussing the problems of life
or playing cards. The natural conse-
quence has been that most of them
were locked out. The same thing
should have been applied to all the
workers who refused to work under
the occupation authorities. If it
mad been, passive resistance would
nave melted away and there would
have been no interruption in the
normal economic life of the occu-
pied area
When asked what his impression
was OF the general attitude of the
German population toward the pre-
sence of French troops, General De-
goutte replied:
ITS too good. It's bad for mill
tary discipline"
When further asked if the seizures
OF increasing amounts of marks.
wnich have been prominently pub
lshed during the past few DAYS in
the German press, represented a de-
parture from methods hitherto prac-
tlced by the occupation army, he an
swered:
mot at all. We have been seizinp
money for the expenses of tho army
ever since we entered the Ruhr. The
seizures now seem much greater
than at first because the mark now
represents only fraction of what II
dld when we came, thanks to Berlin's
poilcy OF paying vast sums for non
production"
Let me explain about these sell
lures OF money" the General con-
tlnued. ".As you know, the Treaty
OF versailles provides that Germany
Shall pay the expenses Of whatever
occupation forces may be conside red
necessary. When we first came 7
wrote requisition on the Reichs-
bank for the army's expenses for
the first week. The Reich shank re-
FUSED to honor it as GERMANY de-
cided the occupation was illegal. II
thereupon said: All right, we'll lust
take what is necessary for our ex-
penses? But don't forget that for
every paper mark we seized we gave
receipt to the person from whom
" was seized, and am reliably in
formed that all holders of receipts
nave been reimbursed by the Reichs-
bank.
The same thing is true of every
tnfng else we have requisitioned for
the army, including automobiles. You
may be surprised to know that sew
eral Germans have come to us re-
mesting that we requisition their
automobiles, so that they might cash
their receipts, with the Reichsbank
at profit"
SMART WINTER COATS
M1gnOnette In nna ~ thn