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The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1932. AT LAUSANNE.

Tre primary question for (he Lausanne Conference on War debts and reparations in - Germany’s ability to pay. .There., are in this connection two broad schools of opinion. The first is that Germany’s obligations should be cancalled,, in the interests of European and world economics. The second is that she- should be compelled to pay as much, as she noesibiy can out of consideration for the present condition of her .creditors and the sanctity of agreements, comments the Dominion. These/' issues are at present the subject, of earnest discussions by the British.' and French' Governments. The United States is standing out of the controversy, taking its ground on the contention that the solution of Germany's difficulties is a matter for jQurope alone. At this stage in the anarch of events it may be of interest 'to consider the‘German' point of view. Germany's perplexities in respect of foreign obligations are of two kinds—her indebtedness in respect of War, reparations, and her indebtednes to foreign creditors in respect of loans, The latter, she asserts, will not be repudiated. AVith regard to 1 the reparations, the Dawes Plan fixed tlie amount of the annual payments. The A r oung Plan subsequently reduced the annual payments, Germany’s incapacity to pay on the scale of the Dawes Plan having been convincingly demonstrated. Then came 1 the American moratorium, based on the evidence that Germany had reached the limit of her capacity to' pay under the terms |of the Young Plan. The position to--1 day is that Germany has announced , her inability to pay any further amounts, and in the familiar pliraseolgy of bankruptcy proceedings, “has no offer to ffiake to her creditors.” By way of offset, however, the Geri mans contend that on market valuaI tions they have paid already far more than they were given credit for. "Under the reparations agreement for example, Germany delivered about 51 million tons of coal, coke, and lignite briquettes of ~ the then market value of million gold marks. As the A r ei:sailles Treaty prescribed that only the-“home, price” sliould' : be "taken in estimating;'the value of reparation payments in /substance,'they were credited witil Only 959 million gold-marks. The same credit variations applied to dye* stuffs, And pharmaceutical • articles, SCO million gold marks as. against credits of 80 millions only; gale of commercial vessels, 3426 million marks against an actual credit of 765 million marks; and so on. These arguments, ! of course, are matters for the Lausanne Conference. The Germans conten d that had actual market values been credited to them, they would have 1 »een able to keep pace with reparation payments in a period of falling prices. This argument no doubt will be appreciated by Great Britain, who suffered at the hands of France by having to accept debt repayments in francs of a lower sterling value than obtained at the time the loans were advanced. Germany’s contention ,at Lausanne therefore will be that she has already paid more than she ought, and tfiiat in present circumstances she cannot pay anything at all. If the Lausainne Conference can find a solution acceptable to America, which at the moment insists that her European creditors must agree among themselves before they come to her, then the way will be clear for an all-round settlement of the War debts and reparations. But America further demands that European agreement should embrace an appreciable degree of unanimity in regard to the question of disarmament. Europe’s rehabilitation must be moral as well as economic. The outlook at Geneva is by no means promising, but leading statesmen are making strenuous laist-minute efforts to rescue from the present apparent stagnation of diplomatic initiative something tangible that may give a favourable impulse to the Lausanne discussions. But even if they have to go from Geneva to Lausanne emptyihanded,, there will still remain, the major problem of Germany’s inability to pay. It cannot be evaded or postponed, for to a message published recently German opinion is exerting tremendous pressure on her representntivivs at Lausanne to adhere tenaciously to the slogan, “No more tribute.’’

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Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HOG19320618.2.16

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1932, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
694

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1932. AT LAUSANNE. Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1932. AT LAUSANNE. Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1932, Page 4

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