Evening star., 1932-06-19
LOSS OF i. S. WAR DEBTS
IS REGARDED CERTAINTY
Little Hope Seen in Moratorium Or Lau-
same Until Europe Comes t.
Political Understanding.

many, then with the other interested
European nations.
| But, in fact, these discussions never
came. for the European conditions and
the Franco-German suspicious contin-
ued steadily to mount. The Lausanne
Conference, scheduled to meet at the
! same moment as the disarmament
! gathering in Geneva, was postponed,
while the Geneva meeting showed Eu-
rope in complete disarray and the pro-
posals of the French and German dis
closed a hopeless deadlock. Geneva
could do nothing and after five months
has done nothing. because political OBJ
stacles make progress out of the ques-
ton; though fearful of the consequences
of adjournirg and confesSing utter fail
ure, the statesmen have prolonged the
discussion despite the utter futility of
| the debate.
Failure Forecast.
| Now the Lausanne Conference comes,
but it comes, like that of Geneva last
! February, with the foregone convic-
tion on the part Of the public as well
as the statesmen Of the world that
nothing good can come out Of it. And
! to all the other reasons for inevitable
! failure the recent shift in Germany
i has been added Bruening has at last
/ fallen victim to the Natioralists and
many is now in the hands of cabal
Of soldiers, Junkers and industrialists
But the result of all this has been
that, although France has now a cabi-
net of the Left, the leaders Of the
moderate and conciliatory. groups
which make up this new political con-
troll have been forced to adopt in the
decisive matters of disarmament and
reparations the theses of Tardieu and
Laval. In advance of Lausanne, Her.
riot has rejected British proposal for
in maintaining Boncour at the Disarm-
ament Conference he has indicated the
continuity of policy of France despite
the change in party majority.
OF course, as practical matter it is
clear that German reparations pay
ments have come to a final end. Ger
many will pay no more, but this sur
cease of payment Is not going to bring
any real solution of the difficulty as
long as France refuses to surrender
her legal claims based upon the Young
plan. An extension of the Hoover
moratorium for three years or five will
Tot go beyond giving temporary post
| ponement; 1t will not provide any way
w SASoA1 AP VAC WA1O1C Pal oAy 1AA6 AACco.
Future Is Doubtful.
The French mortgage upon Germany,
political even before it is financial. can
only be raised as consequence of two
things; German remuneration Of all re-
visionary purposes in the matter of
territory and American remuneration
of all claims upon France for war
debts. If Germany does not pay repa-
rations-and she will not-France will
not pay war debts. Neither will Italy
nor Belgium. for that matter, and the
course of Britain IS problematicai. Un-
less the present chaos in German con-
ditions is cleared up, the outlook fol-
the collection Of the principal and in
terest of American short and lcng
term holdings in the Reich, amounting
to at least $4,000, ,000, 900, is to say the
least problematical.
Even If Germany ehol1d repudiate
both reparations and private debts now
the result would not be the restoration
Of German solvency or prosperity. The
situation has gone far beyond thi:
point. The country IS utterly drained
Of liquid capital. neither the national
nor the Prussian budget Is in equilib-
rum, many municipalities are bank
(ContiFued on Fifth Page3