Evening Post. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1932. DRAFTING BRITAIN'S REPLY

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 130, 29 November 1932, Page 6

Evening Post. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1932. DRAFTING BRITAIN'S REPLY

The report from. Oslo that the Nobel Committee is not awarding a Peace Prize for 1932 cannot he read without a suspicion of irony, in this time of trouble. If in the fourteenth year after the War that was to end war,there had been a'prizeavailable for, Jthe ■.. disturbers of the peace, the cornmittefernight'well'have found in the of meritorious■; and eyenly-jfc»aiariced competitors a sufficient; reason for refusing to make .an award. -But, as the face - was;not for peace-breakers hut for peacemakers, jhe^prize. has been.withheldj on jthe grouna^that • triere' were no starters. "Vet,' 'if success is ■to be measured,;, "not ■-■'.'by spectacular achievementJb'utv;;By the. difficulties of die ".task, 'the. qpalities "brought to its accomplishment and its potentialities :for ; the; welfare of mankind, can^ WoqdrowWilson, the architect of the League pf'Nations, or Briahd and Chamberlain, v the architects of the Locarno' Treatty, 'be reasonably held to have- better deserved the Nobel Peace Prize than the man who in the face of desperate odds brought the Reparations Conference at Lausanne to a successful issue? We have omitted the name of Streseniariri, the third of the architects of Locarno, on the ground that his share in that work may entitle him to even higher credit, but there is fortunately no need to r attempt to fix'the order of the names in a class list. It is sufficient for our purpose to say that Mr. Mac Donald's work at. Lausanne was quite ,up to the Nobel Peace Prize standard, and that if his claims have been by the committee, it is presumably because the world is likely to be robbed of the full fruits of his victory by subsequent events beyond his control.

' The success of Britain in bringing France and Germany together at Locarno in 1925 turned fears into hopes so suddenly that it "was hailed as opening the way for a "United States of Europe." Those who described Britain's similar success at Lausanne as "the greatest event since the Armistice" were placing Mr. Mac Donald's achievement higher still. But the guarantee of European peace which- was concluded at Locarno required no ratification from the United States of America, whereas without that ratification the Lausanne Agreement will be reduced to a scrap of paper. The relief of Germany from her impossible obligations to her European creditors was agreed to at Lausanne because at the last even France was able to see that it was impossible to get blood out. of a stone, and that the attempt would be economically disastrous, even if. it did vnot lead to war. But Germany's European creditors are all debtors to the United I States, and unless their creditor took a similar view of their obligations it was a sheer impossibility for them to'grant Germany the full measure of the proposed relief. The main Agreement effected at Lausanne was, therefore, necessarily qualified by a "gentlemen's agreement" which made it subject to review, if Germany's creditors failed to receive adequate relief from their own creditor. What was an absolutely'indispensable measure of self-protection has- unfortunately been represented as a European drive against the United States!

It is, of course, jupon Mr. MacDoriald himself that the principal responsibility for saving his Lausanne Agreement from nullification, Europe from chaos, and Britain from almost back-breaking strain has how fallen... -Nobody doubts that if the task is possible he is the man to do itjbut nobody can feel equally confident that his bodily strength, which was; very severely tried at Lausanne, will stand up to the new burden as staunchly as his strength of mind and spirit. It is, however, possible that, on this occasion the individual effort required of the Prime Minister will be eased by the spreading of the burden. It would, indeed, be difficult to imagine a team better qualified for the drafting of Britain's reply to the United States Note than the .committee ,of the Cabinet which appears to have the work in hand. Conciliation and sweet reasonableness are as well represented by Mr. Mac Donald himself and Mr. Baldwin as are keenness of intellect and business knowledge by Mr. Neville Chamberlain and Sir -John Simon. And if the principal draftsman is the man who drew up the report of the Simon Commission on India and is also, the reputed author of that Note to the Papen Government two months ago, of which the Berlin correspondent of "The Times" reported that its "masterly drafting is ruefully realised by official Germany," the ex-

peclation that the reply will be "animpressive document" is not1 likely to be disappointed. One tiling that may be predicted ■ with confidence of this momentous document is that it Will not follow the craven and foolish advice by which the organs of Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere have discredited the British Press and injured the national cause. Britain will not sue as a pauper in Washington, nor will she say a word about default; She will not claim to have played the part of a Quixote at Lausanne, .nor will ask the American) Government to take that part now. She will^state the issue as one of selfinterest, on both sides, and of a selfinterest with,which the interests of the world are in complete agreement. Britain's achievement at Lausanne, as stated'hy Mr. Mac Donald in his admirable speech, at Retford, was that it •■was in this, spirit",tha.t we went to the Lausannel Conference, and here for tKe first time we- got a general agreement among the European Gov-ernments-thai; this vast nexus of interGovernmental debt -which was strangling the prosperity of peoples must be cleaned up. ; .-■-■'■ And Britain now asks the American Government, which holds the key' of the: whole position, to join in releasing this. stranglehold for the benefit, in the first instance, of its own people. ■ The immediate question, however, is not. the whole problem of debt revision but the effect of compelling payment of the instalment due on the 15th December. ■ The 'Government,'-says "The Times," should, {confine itself to ■' explaining in simple:; language- the disastrous, effects which.are bound to follow the transfer of;Ssi,million dollars in the'prese'nt crisis. ..' . ■. What concerns JAmerica'is.'the effect upon American exchanges, and; trade,, coupled with the further : depreciation :'•■ of ■_ sterling and' unseftlement of the whole reparations agreement achieved at . Lausanne.'-It is not easy for the American taxpayer to -Tinderstand' how.;: he will become jpqo'rer, not -richer, by exacting payment of debts legally due. There need be no appeal to. sentiment. • He should, merely be asked to refrain from, adding to. his: own/burdens. ' I

We-may be sure^that it is the'advice of ",The;TimeSj" and not that of the "Daily Mail" and the j "Daily Express^' that will ie taken by the British Government. . ' -