Evening star., 1924-09-14
MACDONALD FACES
TRYING SITUATION
Has Maintained Germans
Were Not Alone Guilty
for World War.
BY WILLIAM BIRD.

BY Radio to fhe Star.
PARIS, September 13.-The eternal
question OF Germany's war guilt has
arisen this week to trouble still fur
ther Europe's stumbling but persist
ent march toward peace.
Although it is proba able-particu-
larly If Chancellor Marx possesses a
reasonable number of vertebrae-that
this incident will pass over without
great damage: nevertheless. it is, one
or those questions which everybody
discussed, but few understand and
therefore Is likely to cause public in
dignation to boil over at aEy moment
without rhyme or reason.
England, not France, was the coun-
try which insisted most strongly on
insertion of the so-called confession
clause in the peace treaty. David
Lloyd George. during the khaki elec-
tion.' promised the direst punishment.
including hanging the Kaiser. and
proposed to make the treaty a great
moral charter drawing a sharp dis
tinctfon for all time between honest
and peace-loving nations and blood
thirsty criminal ones.
France Not Interested.
France. on the other hand, had by
then lost interest in moral issues.
J..
She wanted the wars ruins repaired
and tangible guarantees against flu
ture attack, 1t mattered little
whether Germany confessed guilt Of
starting the war. But England want
ed more. England wanted punitive
indemnitieS. and punishment can only
be based on guilt. And so to get
around President Wilson's objections
to punitive indemnities, England in
vented the proposal of making Ger
many pay military pensions. thereby
getting much larger share in the
reparationS payments than that to
which she would have been entitled
by the mere payment of material
damages.
Thus the whole treaty was made
TO rest on Germany's guilt, or rather
the guilt of Germany's previous gov
eminent which the German people
already had driven into exile at the
time of the armistice. Meanwhile
Ramsay Macdonald, in his paclfistlc
writings before and after the war,
had protested repeatedly against the
notion of Germany's sole RESPONSE
bility.
Will Ignore Subject.
And yet it is easy to get an ex
aggerated notion of Frances present
feeling. There has really been ex-
tremely little agitation in the French
press about this subject and as Marx
xefrainS from raising it dipIomati-
cally and forcing the allies to reply,
France will ignore it, Marx prom
tsed the Nationalsts, in exchange for
their favorable votes on the Dawes
bills, that he would send note to
the powers reruGiating that clause
of the treaty. If he fulfillS any such
promise it will create an embarrassing
situation, but doubtless Mr.. Mac
Donalds embarrassment, in view OF
his past unofficial attitude on the
question, will be greater than any
body'a
1t seems more likely that ir the
Nationalists persist in demanding
this Marx will dissolve Parliament
and order new elections, which,
unless all signs fail. would result in
a tremendous Nationalist setback.
Probably the Nationalists know this
and will have sense enough to de-
sist and SO the incident Will close.
Renewal 81 Credit.
The best news that France has had
this week was renewal of the Nor
gan credit for maintaining franc eX-
change. 1t is amusing to note that
the newspapers favoring the pres
ent government applaud this as a
sign of the confidence Premier
Herriot has inspired abroad whereas,
d few months ago, they severely
olamed NJ. Poincare, then premier,
eor contracting such a loan and ac-
cuSed him OF selling out to lnterna-
.iSnal high finance.
At the same time. conditions to-
"a are quite different from last
NJ rch. when the franc had been sold
SHrt in all the markets of the world,
nj
I'd send spectators scurrying for
yer. Today the franc stands high
eH than it has averaged for the past
~ pr. and an attempt to stabilize it
iacfaily might prove costly unless
81 neral economic and political con-
dNions were favorable.
Copyright, 1924.)