Evening star., 1925-08-23
The Story the Week Has Told

the members of the debt commissions
of the two nations and by President
Coolidge. II distinguishes between the
pre-armistice debt and the post-armi-
stice debt. AS to the former (now, with
accrued interest, $246,000, ,000), the
agreements Interest, etc. are of prac-
tically the same kind as for the Brit
ish debt. But our debt commission
considers the latter to be differentiated
by certain moral considerations with
which I presume the reader Is famil-
iar) from all other debts due the United
States from foreign countries. Where
fore the commission considered that
repayment of only the capital
sum G$171,780,000) should be required.
Payments are to be spread over So
years, at a gradually increasing rate
to the eleventh year. from and includ-
ing which the total yearly payment is
to be about $12,7O0.0 900. The interest
on the post-armistice debt of S246 ,000,-
900 (3h per cent after the tenth year,
will total about s310 900, 900. At the
end of 62 years Belgium will have
paid approximately $728,000,000.
The agree ment is. of course. subject
to ratification by the United States
Congress and the proper Belgian
authorities.
The Senate committee on public
lanOS Is dDOul 10 investigate lDe
ministration OF the public domain,
tional parks. There is going to be
some fun. The Federal forest re-
serve comprises 1856, 100000 acres, the
public domain proper. 1S6.600. 900
acres, the national parks 1855. 900
acres, other Federal holdings about
43 900 900 acres.
The report appears to be false that
the Monogolian government ordered
the third Asiatic expedition of the
American Museum of Natural History,
headed by Roy Chapman Andrews, to
leave Mongolia, making sundry pre-
posterous accusations, as that Mr.. An
drews was carrying on political propa-
ganda. But it seems that the political
conditions are such as to make con-
tinuance of research work foolhardy
and that the expedition is therefore
withdrawing. We shall be glad to
have from Mr.. Andrews an account
of those political conditions, whereof
our authentic information is prac-
tically nil. Apparently despite the
Russo Chinese treaty of 1924, pursuant
to which Moscow should have ceased
from troubling in that quarter, Mus
covfte intrigue continues to keep the
country in an unSpeakable mess.
X X
MOrocco.-The negotiations or com
municationS, or whatever one chooses
to call them. relating to peace be-
tween the French and Spanish, on
the one part, and Abd-el-Krim on the
other, have been informal and a lit
tie curious. But the fact is that
the Franco-Spanish peace terms have
been transmitted to Abd-el-Krim
through authorized agents of the lat
ter by authorized agents of the French
and Spanish, and that by like route
Abd-el-Krim has made it known that
he choose to ignore those terms and
that he will not formally negotiate
save on the condition of prior recog.
milton by the French and Spanish of
complete independence of the Riff
In other words, If his most essential
claim Is conceded in advance, he will
negotiate. otherwise not. Which
seems rather absurd. The Franco
Spanish peace terms offer almost com
plete practical autonomy to the Riff,
coupled with almost entire formal
recognition of the sovereignty of the
Sultan OF, Morocco. AS Painleve