The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-08-23
LONDON PACT WAS
WORK OF BANKERS
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the politician and the publicist be-
gan to work upon it. At first they
gave It the benediction Of simple
acceptance.
The financier was shouldered high
by the motley throng of American,
British, French, Belgian, Italian and
German politicians and journalists.
They all hailed him as the saviour
of a distracted world But gradually
1t became apparent that their ap-
plause was intended not for the re-
port as a whole, but for a certain
paragraph, and none of them &C
claimed the same paragraph
The British, the Americans and
Italians were in the main interested
in securing a settlement on any
terms so as to release Europe from
the menace that disturbed its
equanimity and kept it from attend
ing to business. The British and
the Italians have an interest in
reparations, but they have a deeper
interest If peace on honorable terms.
So has Belgium, but she dare not
say so for fear of the French
The settlement, however, depended
on the spirit in which the real
protagonists of the Ruhr conflict &C
cepted the report What would
France and Germany say to It?
The French liked the fifty million
pounds payment swelling year by
year into a broader and broader
stream Of gold which would sweep
away their deficits, restore their
devastated areas and carry their
franc on it's food to safety. The
source Of the loans did not concern
them. That was for the Americans
and British to arrange. France as
sumes her portion in the loan is that
of the receiver and not the lender.
France would receive 50 per cent Of
its flow into her wide irrigation
channel, and the country Of its
origin was OF 10 consequence.
On the other hand, the Germans
had their eyes fixed on two recon-
mendations.
Foreign Loans
First, OF course, was the success
sion OF huge foreign loans which
were indicated in the report and
which they needed so badly to save
their thrifty land. Their land was
ploughed, sown and narrowed by the
years of feverish industry that fol
lowed the war. A gold monsoon was
alone necessary TO bless Germany
with an abundant harvest. The
Dawes report pointed TO a success
sion of loans for her parched soil.
The second recommendation which
gave joy to German hearts was that
in which the experts insisted the
French and the Belgians should let
go their grip on the great coal and
iron center OF the Fatherland.
France did not at first pay any
particular attention TO this part Of
the report She had an idea that
somehow OF other it could be lodged
for some time.
The startling fall Of the franc
forced Poincare for a while to dwell
more upon the points Of acceptance
than upon the reservations. When
the fall was temporarily arrested and
the bruised franc once more stood
up in the worlds exchange, the Ruhr
evacuation gradually emerged into
notice and it became clear that
French opinion was not in the least
reconciled to the idea of clearing
out Of the Westphalian coal fields.
1t was soon apparent that the new
French Parliament was just as re-
luctant TO haul down the tricolor
at Essen and Dusseldorf as its prede-
cessors had been. NJ. Herriot, al
though elected on a pacifst program,
was compelled to make declarations
in the Senate which were Poincarist
in sentiment and purpose.
The misty beatitudes of Chequers
were thrown into the waste-paper
basket and both N. Herriot and Mr..
Ramsay Macdonald drew up a dec
laration which left the evacuation Of
the Ruhr to the chances of French
politics. 1t was on the>basis Of this
declaration, hastily plastered to-
gether in order to save NJ. Herriot
from the senatorial grave, that the
London conference was expected to
build lasting European settlement.
Halt!
Commissions were set up to lay the
bricks on this ramshackle founda-
ton, and building operations began.
At that stage came the voice Of the
f1nanciers crying out, "Haltr' in I'm
perative tones that could not be
ignored.
They made it evident to the COM
placent conference that no money
would be advanced on the security
OF such a structure. Mr.. Montagu
Norman spoke gently, but firmly in
the treasury board room and Mr.. J.
P. Morgan made his voice heard by
wireless from the mid-Atlantic above
the roar OF it's pillows. There would
be no loan unless the f1nanciers'
terms were compiled with. And the
loan is the Hnchpin of the Dawes
report. Take that out and the re-
port oollapses.
The condition Of a loan is that the
security must be good To make the
security good. German prosperity
must be restored. Bankers are not
in the habit of risking their money
On concerns which are in the hands
of the baiIiffs. The baiIiffs must first
Of all be cleared out and an under
standing given that they will not 70
turn except as manufactures Of the
lenders. That was the bankers ul-
timatum, and no amount of persua-
sion or pressure avaiIed to shift
them one inch from their resolve.
This stern message created con-
sternation at the conference. The