Evening star., 1924-06-16

machinery is no more abundant than
! in England and where today the
| laborer is undornourished. American
| industry, 1t Is claimed, can pay four
| times the wages paid in Germany,
yet meet competition in the world
| markets, provided German wages are
paid In sound gold-based money. The
Dawes commission found this inefh-
| cheney in Germany, with it's conse-
| quent inability to buy products or
| even raw materials Of other coun-
| tries with It's worthless paper money.
| Even IF the Industries could produce
| wealth in excess of home consump-
| tion the surplus would be measured
in paper worthless in paying foreign
debts.
The only way that wealth can pass
ana yet maintain sound money, is
through Germany's exporting more
than she imports, creating foreign
| do this with her home production
| before the war. Will she be enabled
to do II now? BY what revolutionary
| methods?
The only real wealth in the world
Is what is produced by labor. Ger
many cannot produce gold, for she
has no gold mines. She possesses
only about $2,000,000,0 900 in gold
| about what will pay one years in
stallment on her reparations, If paid
IN gold. Ii IL an obvious impossible
ity TO drain her gold to pay foreign
debts without replenishing that sup
| ply from foreign countries in ex-
| chanSe for more manufactured eX-
| ports than the total imports-creat-
| ing trade balance to her credit in
foreign countries. These were the
conditions confronting the Dawes in
NeStigation.
The Dawes commission discovered
three great resources to capitalize.
The railroads are owned by the
| government and are valued at &c
billion gold marks. 1t is proposed to
transfer them to a private corpora
| ton, and to sell railroad bonds to
the amount of IL billion gold marks
| to the credit Of the reparation ac-
| count. The railroads will continue
| to pay taxes on traffic-to be charged
| to shipping and passengers. These
| taxes, $50 to 230 million gold marks,
| hitherto going to the government
| VIII go TO the reparations. The rail-
| roads must pay interest on the bonds
bob to $50 million gold marks an
nually.
The government is TO assess a levy
on all industries in bonds totaling
| hve billion gold marks. The ap-
parent prosperity of capitalists since
| the armistice is not due to production
but to persistent failing in value OF
the inflated paper money, which en-
aoied the industrialists to pay off
millions of their ordinary bonds in
deprecated money. Those profits will
now be absorbed by the government
| and paid in bonds for the reparations
account.
| The general budget is to pay from
| $50 million gold marks, beginning
| one year after the plan is accepted,
| up to 1850 million after the fourth
year
! From these three sources Germany
| Will raise a total of $500, 900. 900 gold
| marks a year on the reparations ac-
| count, all to pass into a bank of issue
| to be financed by selling stock, most
| ly to foreign capitalists. and con-
trolled by majority of foreign di-
| rectorS.
These details cover only the in
! ternal machinery for producing
wealth through setting the laborer
| to work-not methods of getting the
wealth out of the country without
sapping the gold which is the basis
OF sound money. for that would stop
her purchase of raw materials and
stop her industries.
There is the crux which may lead
to the most disagreement.
| ray SIHtHlS oulSiue OF tIeTInany can
| not exceed Germany's trade balance
| in exports. But exports are impos-
| sible unless countries will accept
| them as imports. Even her exports
| to other countries will affect our la
! Dor conditions, il is claimed, because
! of competition in the world mar
/ kets. The answer is given that wha
We would lose in that competition
we would gain in increased purchas-
ing power of the Germans in their
| prosperity. The allies, through the
! bonds and their control of the bank
| of issue. can control the competition
! of German exports whenever they
| become troublesome, and our five
| fold productivity per man still gives
America the advantage, even with
| American wage scales.
| No amount that Germany can ever
| pay will cover the full damages and
| costs of the war. The Dawes COM
mission was not empowered to fix a
total, but only to ascertain how much
| she could pay per year and how she
| could be restored to activity.
| fCopyricht 1924 nv paul Y Collins