Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-12

acceptance Is, OF COURSE. Iuu Oh
rifs" and "whens," but still Germany
has been saved. for the time being at
least from disaster.
AS In many international discussions,
there has been good deal OF give and
take. No nation can say that 1t has
won victory over the other.
President Hoover had In mind to
save Germany from immediate bank
fuptcy; he has succeeded.
The French wanted to safeguard the
principle of the continuity of the Ger
man obligations toward the creditor
nations and the principle that post
war treaties cannot be revised. They
also have succeeded. They have the
satisfaction Of having won the bout
with us ION points" The President
wished that the payments Of this years
annuity should be spread over long
period. He mentioned Is years. The
State Department indicated that we
would be willing to compromise on II
years In order to save the principle
Of the Hoover plan we accepted H.
year period. The future will tell
whether this period is long enough to
ENABLE Germany to pay her obliga-
lions. We left out of the compromise
number Of important details which
have to be Strengthened out by the
treasury experts. Our jack-of-all-
trades, Ambassador Hugh Gibson, will
be in London with the experts as an
official observer. Matters will be re-
ferred to him whenever there will be
an important hitch-and there will be
many. The technical experts Will begin
to work on July II and are likely to
spend long time in the capital OF the
British Empire. Optimists say that their
labors will be ended within the next
three months; pessimists declare that it
may take three years. 1t all depends on
the attitude and the interest of the va
tiouS European governments.
Politics Introduced.
The truth is. however, that while the
President has been trying hard to keep
this question of intergovernmental
debts and reparations outside the
sphere of politics, the European gov
ernments have managed to introduce
politics under the cloak Of experts
work"
The success or failure of the work
which is beginning in London depends,
to a great extent, on how far the Ger
mans are willing to yield politically.
The financial aspect Of the situation,
as far as France is concerned is really
Of minor Importance. The French, by
accepting the Hoover plan, have made
q financial sacrifice greater than the
United States. BY the Hoover agree
ment this country Is losing this year
some $3.50 10000. The French are
losing a little more than $100,000,000.
But, while this sum in the United
States can be divided among popula-
ton of some 125,000,000 inhabitants.
the hundred million dollars the French
are likely to sacrifice must be eventual
~ paid by a population of less than
80, 900, 900 people. The proportion be-
tween our sacrifice and the French
sacrifice is something like 2:212. Fur
thermore, while this sacrifice will have
TO be born in America by those indi-
viduals who earn at least $4,000 year,
in France it will have to come out of
the pockets of individuals or heads of
families who earn 1880 francs year
tabout 5000. Consequently in the case
that the German reparations are lost
the burden will be greater for the
French than for the American public.
The French, however, don't seem to
worry much about this potential loss,
and il the work of the experts commits
SIGN will be protracted and the French
show an adamant spirit the reason will
b. found, not in the footing techni-
calities of reparations in kind, but in
the fact that the Germans are not
willing to abandon their freedom of
doing what it is best to improve their
situation in the world
Busy Months at Hand.
During July and August European
prime ministers and foreign ministers
will be very active. A number of Off
cial conversations between the French
and the Germans, the Germans and
the Italians, the British and the Ger
mans and the British and the French
are scheduled to take place. Secretary
Stimson, who arrived in Europe on
July 7, will see privately all these Euro
pean statesmen and will talk to all of
them and use all the prestige Of the
United States to avert clash and
facilitate the general disarmament con-
ference.
Secretary Stimson's task Is not an
knviable one. He will talk reconcilia-
tion, cooperation and the need of a
general disarmament to people who
think about security and see dangers
everywhere. He will say Lets get to-
Rether and forget all about this re-
ciprocal mistrust," and will be an
swered. what are you going to do for
us in case we are in trouble?" The old
conflicting theories between the French
and the American point of view are
bound to spring up stronger than ever
before. We say disarm first and then
we can talk security. The French say
give us a full guarantee that we shall
not be confronted with another inva-
sion Of our territories and we are ready
to talk disarmament.
1t will be difficult to reconcile the
French point of view to ours. In order
to cooperate heartily for Germany's
economic reconstructions the French
want definite assurances from the
Germans on three specific questions:
First. On the question Of the tariff
union with Austria.
Second. On the question Of ADAM
dcning the idea of revising the Yer
sailles treaty, especially in regard to
the DanZig corridor.
Third. On the question Of the COM
ing disarmament conference.
The tariff union between Germany
and Austria has been worrying France
greatly ever since the Germans made
& clear that they intend putting their
plans through in spite Of what any
other nation may say.
Two-sided Question.
The so-called AnschlusS IS not only
n question Of paramount political I'M
portance for France, but IT Is also an
economic question.
The latest financial developments IN
Central Europe have proved to France
how strongly connected were the
economic institutions Of Central Europe
with Germany. The collapse Of the
Austrian Credit Anstalt" caused run
on the German banks. The weakening
of the Reichsbank in the last two
weeks reacted upon Rumanian and
Hungarian banks.
Z The economic link between Germany
and Central Europe Is already definite
Nv established and awaits only an of1i-
cial act to confirm 1t. France needs.
politically, to maintain her hold on
Rumania, Czechoslovakia and Jugo-