Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-22
A Cash-and-C Carry Plan for Preparations

with which TO pay France and the other
allies the sum agreed upon.
The next step would be for the allies
10 use this cash. or o part Of II. In set
tling-again on q present cash value q;
against the idea OF fixing payments run
ming over 81 years-their debts 10 each
other and 10 this country.
ss&s
That Is all there Is 10 the plan. as q
matter of fact. II one leaves out politics
II one assumes the successful culmina'
ton Of the bargaining processes which
would inevitably precede such an agree
nlenI and IL one assumes that the In
vestors of the world would buy these
German reparations bonds on q basis
which would not make the interest
charges too heavy q burden on Ger
many.
These items. OF course. cannot be lefi
out. but they arc not regarded as By
any means inSurmountaole by the
financiers and international bankers
who have been studying the situation.
In the first place is tbs question oil
politics. not only In the United States
but In France and In every country Ia
which Germany owes tremendous
sum.
or all Of these the most difficult Is
believed 10 be France. How can any
French government. II Is always asked
when this question Is discuSSed-and II
Is being discussed only In considerable
secrecy because Of the various political
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. TO remain In power
II It agrees TO scale down the repara-
tons Germany must pay To some sun,
TO which 1t Is hoped TO get the German,
government 10 agree and which nigh,
by any stretch OF the imagination be
realized by the sale OF new PREPARATIONS
bonds TO the investors Of the worlds
The answer made BY finaneiers Is
that the French people are FAR more
practical about this question OF rcpara-
tons now than they were few years
back They are not assured. for ex-
ample. that If Germany should simply
refuse To continue paying the United
states would send soldiers across the
Atlantic again, On the contrary. they
have now persuaded themselves that
.this country would do nothing of the
sort. They have even become persuaded
that Britain probably would not help
them To put the screws OH Germany
Further the menace Of MuSSolinL 70
the south, though alone Il causes no
alarm might become very real IN the
event Of trouble with Germany In which
britain and the United states were not
sympathetic,
The point made by the financierS Is
that not only have the French leaders
Just come to realize this situation, but
that the French people have by now
appreciated H. For this and other rea-
Sums too numerous 10 give In detail there
n no certainty In the minds of the
French that 30 years or 30 years hence
viii md the Germans sun paying
separations On the contrary, they are
not even sure that Germany VIII be
paying them ave years hence Inter-
views have been printed forecastins that
the payments viii cease In an even
shorter period,
This does not mean that the imam
ciefs considering the problem believe
that all viii be smooth sailing IN the
negotiations which must, under the
plan. lead up IN an agreement ot how
much eaah France would accept IN lieu
of reparations Far ttum Il,
There viii he time after time during
these frat discussions between the
French and the Germans" said one
very able finaneier To whom che writer
talked, when the French viii throw up
their banda ana SAY that never, never,
never viii they consider taking such 4
small amount And there viii b. lust
as MANY times when the Germans viii
t,'ent,auet Oh tVusth rage1