Evening star., 1924-03-31
REPARAT|ONREPO
PHRAS|NG BATTLING
Wording of Text to Avoid
RuffIing Powers Last
Task for Experts.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
PARIS, March 31.-The Dawes COM
mittee of rcparation experts buckled
down this afternoon to the work of
ironing out the last remaining divergen-
cies among its members over their re-
port to the reparation commission ois
their examination into Germany's fnan-
cial and economic position.
The desire of all concerned is to de-
eide upoi: a text to which all can sub
SCRIBE. and the wording of which will
not ruf,e either France or Belgium on
the one hand or Germany on the other.
The most extreme care is being taken
that there shall be no phrase in the re-
port susceptible of being construed as
interpreting the occupation of the Ruhr
as either legal or illegal. The British,
for their pari, are willing to consider
the Ruhr situation an accomplished
fact. and are DESTROYS that the report
shall not consider the past, but only. the
present and the future.
Approximates Bonar Law Plan.
1t appears that considerable verbal
camoufiage must be elaborated to this
end. as we'll informed quarters are
agreed that in the last analysis the
recommendations of the experts are
likely to approximate closely the
British reparation plan the late Pre-.
mier Bonar Law offered Premier Poin-
care in January, 1928. II the French
premier is going to accept the ex-
perts' findings ii is conceded he must
not be put in a position where his
opponents would be able to retort:
You now are accepting what you
rejected fifteen months ago after 60
ing to the expense and trouble of the
Rphr occupation 80,
1t is considered possible that Pre-
mier Poincare will insist that the
,reparation commission deliberate on
the experts report before submitting
it to the several governments, in or
der to allow French opinion to crys-
tallize and, il necessary.-to mollify it
before the French government is
obliged to make a decision. 1t is con-
sidered unlikely, however, that Presi-
dent Barthou of the commission will
lend himself to such a program. al
though most of the other commission
members think a deliberative period
by that body would be wiser were it
German and French elections.
Drop Political Aspects.
1t is generally conceded In repara-
tion circles that even the cleverest
wording of the report cannot prevent
the German stump speakers telling
their constituents during the cam
paign in Germany that the provisions
60 l.
are merely stuffed dogs or French
speIlbinders of the Poincare persua-
sion from assuring the voters that
The experts, however, have deter
mined to wash their hands of all po-
litical considerations.
Despite the persistent reticence of
the members of the drafting commit
tee the impression in all diplomatic
and technical circles is that the re-
port will be bound to indicate, al
though as deftly as possible-the dis
belief OF the experts in two of the
cardinal points of the French pro-
maintaining the schedule of repara-
tion payments adopted May 5, 1921,
and the possibility of the profitable
exploitation of any portion of Ger
man territory under allied control.
Nevertheless, it is considered that
Premier Poincare, in view of the new
orientation of his cabinet, will be in
a better position to accept this view
point than hitherto, provided he is
allowed TO maintain the military
grip upon the Ruhr and permitted to
make a tacit reservation that France
and Belgium may take separate ac-
tion If Germany again becomes re-
calcitrant.
The Dawes committee met in plen-
ary session at pm
mi faa hor LIT
has much work ahead in straighten-
ing out the tangles in the German
railroad question, and IL met this aft
ernoon for a session which it was
expected would last far into the
night