Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-22
Assertion That ReparationS
Is Economic Natter Not
Political One, Triumphs in
Fruit of Investigation
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Leased Wire to The Journal.)
NCopvright, 1924

but triumph in the end-thus does
the diplomatic world size up the re
| markable formula for the solution OF
the -year-old PREPARATION ContrO
versy drafted by the Dawes YounG
commission and now accepted by
Germany as well as the allied pow
! erS.
Secretary of State Hughes spon
sored the idea. fought long and
yoluble diplomatic battles with Pre-
mier Poincare, and finally won out
! by the simple process of awarding
| to the French premier the oppor
| tunity to make the American idea
! his own. The inside history of the
| moves which have led to the happy
| solution now in prospect, which is
| filling the world again with opti-
mism. can be revealed now as an
enlightening chapter in the foreign
| policy of the United States.
The story starts with the effort OF
President Wilson to get senate con.
sent to the appointment of an Ameri-
| can member on the reparatiOns com
| mission. He failed. President Har-
ding expressed himself as willing to
have such representation authorized
but the temper of the irreconcilables
prevented action. An official Ameri-
can member sat in the reparatiOns
meetings, first r. w. Boyden and
then Colonel Logan. Neither were
permitted to vote, as America had
not joined the commission officially.
But the commission was pro-F'rench
The Belgians and Italians voted with
| the French while the British stood
more or less alone most of the time.
The deadlock prevented any solution.
Meeting Got Nowhere
| Great Britain sought American aid
in vain. Finally through diplomatic
influence, the Preparations Commits
sion was prevailed upon to invite
bankers and financiers to act as an
advisory committee in finding a
practicable solution. j. p. Morgan
was invited to sit on such a commit.
tee. But the sessions of the advisory
body came to naught, largely be-
cause the French government insist
ed upon believing the plan would re-
solve itself into a means of cutting
down Germanys payments. Inter
ference with the scope OF the COM
mittee's work by the injection of a
meetings.
Diplomacy agan took up the
tangle, but without success. Then
came THE speech of Secretary
Hughes at New Haven in which he
argued that what was needed was
not political but an economic
state of mind He proposed that the
matter be left to a commission Of
experts disconnected from political
Or governmental influence. They
were to determine scientifically what
Germany could pay and find a
formula whereby Germany would be
able to pay reparation debts. The
suggestion fell on deaf ears IN
France
Then former Prime Minister David
Lloyd George came to America ana
pointed to the Hughes suggestion
as practicable and urged its accept
ance, or, at any rate, that the Brit
ish government take it up. Pfesl-
dent Coolidge let it be known that
the Hughes plan announced under
the Harding administration would
be the policy of his administration,
Mr.. Lloyd George seized upon it as
II
Baldwin government fearing that
Mr.. Lloyd George would make 1t an
issue on his return, promptly ten
dered an invitation to the United
States and other powers to partici-
pate in the selection of a commits
sion of experts as suggested by Sec
retarv Hughes in his New Haven
speech
Poiucare Skepticai
America promptly accepted, pu.
Premier Poincare was skepticai\ OF
the London proposal, as he was OF
nearly everything of British origin.
TRY as Secretary Hughes cid
through numerous conversations
with Ambassador Jusserand to per
suade the French premier that the
plan would not have to be accepte'
if it was unsatisfactory, the French
government in effect rejected the
invitation bv IMPOSING restrictions
on the scope of the committee
which the Washington government
deemed destructive, and hence the
British invitation failed of result.
During the correspondence with
the American government the
French had shown such an interest
in the main outline of the Hughes
plan that he was truly disappointed
when the negotiations collapsed
Feeling the necessity for an expert
inquiry, NJ. Poincare decided to Is
sue the invitation himself, and he
sponsored a plan quickly approved
bv the separations commission:
whereby that body formally invited
| the experts to advise it. The ex-
perts were not necessarily ito be con
nected with governments. In the
| case of the Americans invited
! Charles G.. Dawes, owen d. Young
! and Henry NJ. Robin on-they We're
selected with the knowledge of the
American government, but without
its specific authority. Indeed, the
American members prevailed upon
| the other experts TO cut loose from
their governments so as TO spea X
and look at the problem as a bust
ness matter without regard TO poll.
tics-eXactly the Hughes formula.
American Loan a FOrerunner
Such an attitude has brought out
| a plan now regarded as a master
| piece of adroit phraseolOGy and
| diplomatic handling of an admitted.
! " complex situation. Neither
! France nor Germany was offended
! by the recommendations. The ma
| tionaI honor ard obligations of both
| sides was recognized. Fiscal recon
/ struCtiou for Germany was assured
/ provided France withdrew her eco
nomic Strengthened on the RUIN
/ Nothing was said about continued
military occupation of the Ruhr by
/ the French, which probably will be
1 perfunctory, but which nevertheless
will satisfy French pride without in
terfering with Germany's produc
! tiYeneSS.
Just how much the gradual fall
| Of the franc has had to do with the
| tractable spirit of the French gov
ernment in the recent parleys can
only be conjectured, but in the midst
of the crisis over the franc. Ameri