Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-06

market value. of her franc and bonds.
Yet, today in spite of the strenuous
efforts OF Premier Poincare AND other
leading statesmen. there are agftators
playing 10 the galleries and arguing
for reputation or default.
/ II France elects to pay the $780,
100000 next August /. that will mean
that she refuses to ratify the Mellon
Berenaer settlement on the whole debt,
and the whole loan, including the bill
7 lions loaned during the war, will be
overdue and defaulted.
They talk about ratifying the Mel
| on-BerengeT settlement with the reser-
! vstion that the payments will be made
I only on condition that Germany makes
her PREPARATION payments. 1t is as IL
! a borrower from bank were TO say TO
| the banker, Yes, my note is past due,
but I'll give you new note bearing
! the conditional promise TO paw, pro-
Viding my own collections are good"
| What bank is accustomed TO discount
J ing conditional notes?
ReVenons a nos moutons There was
! Talleyrand and the French Directory OF
/ which he was part, successors TO the
! King with his head cut OF. In 1893.
4 France was again at war with Great
! Britain. and naturally she hoped TO
! have alliance with the United States.
/ But ex.President Washington had seen
the infantile weakness of the young re-
! public and had cautioned the country.
in his Farewell Address. against "en-
tangling alliances" or mixing into Eu-
ropes long-standing Quarrels. 1t was
! different government, then, in France
J the Revolution
1t was an exciting question in Amer
I lea, many patriots still feeling Senti-
mentally grateful TO France-confIlstnK
revolutionary France with that OF the
King who had come TO our aid. because
ne hated Great Britain, rather than
loved a republic.
] France demanded that we join her
in warning against the English; it might
have turned out well II we had so Joined
her rather than fight alone our own
War of 1912 against the English, but
il we we're what our Declaration of In
dependence said, then we could use our
own judgment as TO entering any
war because some other country de-
manded" it.
We refused to Join France at the
! demand OF the Directory and France
made war on us, and destroyed our
shipping on the high seas. When we
sent .. commission TO adjust the matter.
Talleyrand head of the Directory re-
fused to receive the commission at all,
Sonaly--a bride of $2500o0. Then
snake our minister plenipotentiary, Mr..
! Pinckney, 1--WE have millions for de-
tense. but not one cent for tribute
What a thrill those words still BRING
/ All. there's a hundred per cent Ameri-
can't
Gen. washington was recalled from
Mount Vernon 10 command an army 10
defend us against France, and word
was sent fguratively at least: "Talley-
. rand. we are here: come on over"
France is still indebted for some of the
claims Of damages of that day-"Credit
Mobilier."
But America does not harboT grudees
against people because OF q changing
government of tina: race. So when our
World War Foreign Debt Commission
got together with Frances representa-
tiNes three years ago, the whole debt
was Jumped together, and IL was pro-
posed to give easy terms OF settlement
by spreading out the payments over 81
years, so that not all the burden would
fall in the generation which had borne
the heat of battle and suffered the
losses of the war. Instead of collecting
IS per cent interest on any part OF the
debt as France collected from las, no
interest was to be collected prior to
1902 years after the War-and the
rate in the proposed Mellon Berenger
settlement over the whole 81 years will
average only l .965 per cenL-less than
per cent on the original principal-or
if figured on the debt as funded, it
amounts to $40 per cent-a tribe over
~ ~ per cent or one-tenth of the rate
the French King charged our struggling
forefatherS. And we are paying for
that money to our holders of Liberty
bonds 3l2 per cent; we paid. for years,
as high as "a per cent on part of the
bonds.
There are IS nations which have
funded their debts to the United States:
have reduced the principals, aS
agreed. with annual payments-Grear
Britain. Italy Belgium, Jugoslavia.
Finland and Hungary. Six others have
exercised options as stipulated in their
settlements by postponing payments
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Rumanta, Lith-
uania and Latvia. The principal of
the Greek debt is the same as when its
funding agreement was contaminated.
last May.
France alone has failed either to pay
or to fund her debt into stipulated
agreements. to pay annually. Premier
Poincare is striving desperately to OBJ
tain parliamentary ratification of the
Acknowledgement agreement OF 1925, and
! IL he Id1lS MS CABINET uluSt resign.
Instead of acting, the Chamber OF
Deputies is begging postponement of
the payment due within three weeks.
though no authority but Congress could
authorize such postponement, and Con-
: gress is not in session, and would re-
fuse IL it were.
Talleyrand, VOLTA! CThere it isO
M Henri Franklin Bouillon, chair
man of the French foreign relations
committee has used threatening Ian
guage against failure of America to
grant further time on the S400, loot, 600.
20 which Senator Borah, chairman Of
the foreign relations committee Of the
United States Senate, replied with eousl
directnesS. There will be no postpone
ment. and the situation grows tense.
(Copyright, 1929, by Paul v. ColiinsJ