The Daily News THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1922. GENOA PROBLEMS.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 April 1922, Page 4

The Daily News THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1922. GENOA PROBLEMS.

From the initial discussions that have taken place at Genoa there is no difficulty in arriving at some idea of the formidable nature of the task that Mr. Lloyd George has to face in creating and preserving an atmosphere conducive to the solution of the many grave problems,' the settlement of which is so imperative for the rehabilitation of Europe. The marvel is that, so far, not only has serious friction been avoided, but definite progress made in the work of the Conference. It. might, be thought that the readiness of the French delegate to get out of hand on the slightest provocation would seriously hamper those who are striving to engender calmness and breadth of mind among the members of the Congress, yet, in reality, it is not so detrimental as may appear at first sight, for it demonstrates that delegates may speak freely and frankly, and should give confidence to the representatives of the smaller nations. It is quite possible that had the Allies exhibited a perfectly unanimous front at the outset, tho impression might have been created that they were present with a cut and dried programme .which they expected all the other nations to endorse, and that would lave been fatal to the attainment of any *>f the objects for which the Conference was called. If success is to be obtained each delegate must be brought to feel that his views are as important as any of the others, and that the needs and desires of his country are entitled to and should receive equal consideration with any other country. As the main object of the conference is to make Europe financially healthy and restore the nations to something approaching solvency, the financial problem, naturally dominates aTI others, and although the German reparations have been excluded from the scope of the gathering, it is quite evident that some means must be devised to enable Germany to meet her obligations to the Allies and at the same time be in a position to develop her resources, and keep her people contented, thereby avoiding an upheaval which might and probably would— develop into hostilities. That they will have to work hard to meet the liabilities of the country—and they must be met —as well as to regain prosperity, is beyond question, therefore it is imperative that the value of the mark shall be appreciated. In this connection it may be noted that the Conference was not long in arriving at the obvious conclusion that until the issue of pager money was reduced to a minimum there was little hope of the exchanges being improved. It was suggested during the Economic Commission s discussion on the experts’ report, that a convention of all banks issuing paper money should be called to consider the. question of the abolition of paper money, because until that step is taken reconstruction is impossible. The combined scheme of the neutrals, whose currency has not been depreciated, to institute international credits has much to .recommend it, and even their desire to help is a welcome sign of good will that should be beneficial to the work of the Congress. The German problem really presents no feature that is not capable of being worked out satisfactorily, provided the necessary desire to make the best possible use of the Conference so that Germany may be given an opportunity to make headway on sound lines. 'With Russia, however, the matter is vastly different. So widely divergent are the claims of the Russian delegates from the views of the other nations that the course pursued by the British Premier in holding a series of informal roundtable conferences to enable the Russians to display all their cards and test their value is certainly a wise and statesmanlike action, I and probably the only way inj

which hope lies for coming to anything approaching an agreement providing for guarantees for future action acceptable to the Powers. To convince the Russians that certain of their leading cards must be discarded will be no easy matter, yet it is the only way in which the ground can be cleared for a peaceful settlement of the gigantic troubles which face the country. No help can be rendered without, reliable guarantees. The first essential is the establishment of law and order, not as the Soviet construes such matters, but from a European viewpoint. At present the Government of Russia is a reign of terror; hence the need for security of life and private property. The question of the recognition of the national debts incurred by the old regime does not appear to present any serious difficulty, yet before further debts are incurred there must be a satisfactory acknowledgment of those already in existence. On these two points being adjusted the minor points should not be formidable, though there is no doubt Russia will ask for far more than she expects to receive.