MAKING GERMANY PAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 227, 19 June 1919, Page 4

MAKING GERMANY PAY

The total amount of the indemnity Germany will bo called upon to pay—a matter reserved for detailed consideration—has been naturally the subject of a great deal of interested speculation. It was stated by the London correspondent of the New York Evening Fost not long ago that the closest estimate of the amount of the indemnity seemed to be £11,000,000,000. This amountconsiderably less than one-half of the war outlay of tho Allied nations — includes "the sum of £1,000,000,000, payment of which is demanded within two years, so that it would remain for Germany to liquidate a debt of £10,000,000,000 during the next thirty years, provided the present arrangement in regard to the period of payment is adhered to. The Allies have made it clear that they intend to exact interest on this debt whil6 it remains unpaid, and this, of course, means a substantial addition to the burden entailed. Presumably, though this has.not been'made clear, an indemnity of the,amount stated would be exclusive of the value of the output of the Saar coal mines, which constitutes a partial reparation to Prance for the devastation of her invaded departments and the removal of plnnt, machinery, raw materials, etc. The chief practical difficulty to be overcome is that of devising a method of payment which will safeguard Allied industries and commercial interests. The difficulty is increased if the Allies, as one of to-day's messages states, have agreed to allow Germany the use of her merchant ships for two years. According to tho latest available information the amount of gold held at disposal in Germany is comparatively small—one recent estimate put, it at less than £100,000,000—and sne has disposed also of a considerable proportion of the foreign securities she formerly held. A large part of the indemnity, principal and interest, will have to be paid, directly or indirectly, in the export of manufactured goods. It would be a very difficult matter to reconcile the acceptance of direct payment in this form with a due control of international trade, but it .has been suggested in London that'the indemnity may cither bo made payable to an international commission sitting at Berlin, with power to invest in German securities and remit to tlin Allies gradually, or be made available by German bearer bonds, negotiable in all countries. Under tho latter plan the Allies, presumably, would be largely free to direct or confine German trade in such channels as they thought fit. The City, according to one London correspondent, prefers a mixture of those courses! "It considers that a wide dissemination of tho bonds might increase Germany's desire to keep faith with their holders." There is no real doubt about Germany's ability to meet such demands' as tho Allies have imposed or are likely to imBelief from the pre-war expenditure on armaments and preparations for aggressive war in itself will go a considerable way towards balancing tho burden of reparation which is so far from amounting to an adequate punishment of her grimes.