Evening star., 1924-05-12

The election OF deputies, which oc-
CURED yesterday throughout France,
may have = crucial effect upon the
settlement Of Frances debt to the
United States and her acceptance Of
the Dawes plan for the revival of
Germany. Cable news Of the results
Of the election is awaited today.
France owes the United States
nearly $4,000. .ooo.o 900. on which she at
present is paying no interest and
which she delays refunding. Yet
long ago France pressed Russia for
an immediate settlement Of what that
country owed France. and when Rus
| sia protested poverty. according to
Lloyd George. this was the attitude
of France:
TO French statesmen, payment of
the obligations incurred by a nation
to foreign lenders was the hallmark
OF civilization. When tho Russian
delegates, in an endeavor to mitigate
the severity OF the terms of pay
nent, put in a plea OF poverty for
their country and pointed to the DESC
lating ruin of war and civil dissen-
sion, and to the ravages of pesti-
lence and famine, the French dele
gates were scornful. 1t was only bar
barians and bolshevists who repu-
dated hon lest debts for honest money
advanced by neighbors, and they had
no patience with debtors who pleaded
devastation of their country as a
reason for putting Off payment of
what was due from them"
y X X
The crux OF tho Dawes scheme of
settlement of Germany's financial
condition appears to be two-fold--
borrowing with which to resume
specie payment and establish a bank
Of issue, and selling more exports,
SO that the balance of trade can be
applied upon reparations.
England will probably take $780,
100000 of the loan proposed by the
Dawes committee, and It is under
| stood that a group of international
bankers Of tho United States will
noat 500, 600, 900. sAlready the bank
ers have arranged with the Federal
Reserve Bank to re-discount $1,000
600 OF German acceptances. SO the
funds will actually come from the
Federal Reserve Bank.
A provision of the Dawes plan
which is not generally understood
is that there is no purpose to have
the gold. which will be loaned to
Germany upon certain industrial Sc
curities. paid over to France or any
other country in gold upon reparation
account 1t will be expended for the
first two or three years only in Ger
many, through the proposed bank Of
issue, for the purpose of reviving
German productive industries.
Germany does not produce enough
food to supply her people. Prior to
the war she imported food to the
amount of 2,274 million gold marks.
She lost per cent of her population
in the war, so that now, TO maintain
the same living standard, she must
import ais million gold marks
worth figured at pre-war prices-to
which must be added 60 per cent as
the difference in costs today. She
also imported 6,242 million gold
marks in manufactures.
Her total imports now, to equal her
pre-war requirements, must reach
9,477 million gold marks, based on
pre-war prices, OF which TO-DAY :
equivalent is 1878 million Soid
marks. She must pass that figure in
exports before she will have any
balance of trade to apply on repa-
rations.
What can she export with which
to cover these imports? She has lost
her coal, her iron and her colonies.
To what countries will she sell such
enormous exports? Prior to the war
she sold to England, France, the
United States and Austria-H
a total of 4,213 million gold marks
annually, which at present prices
eco per cent increase) would be
equivalent to 6,741 million gold
| marks But today the first three
countries are protected by high tar
IFS and the last one is bankrupt.
Even IL these three protected coun-
tries opened their markets in full to
Germany, they would take-at pre-
war rate-onlv a quarter Of what