“MOST SINISTER”

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11423, 20 January 1923, Page 5

“MOST SINISTER”

OCCUPATION OF RUHR “FRANCE HAS JUMPED ON PROSTRATE GERMANY.” LLOYD GEORGE CONDEMNS. (The following and all Lloyd George articles copyright by United Press of America in all countries, copyright in Australasia by Australian Press, copyright in Britain by “Daily Ckrquicle.” Reproduction m full or in part prohibited.) By Telegraph—Press Assn.— Copyright. A-U£traiiaa and N.&. GabLa Association(Received January 19, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, January 18. “France,” says Mr Lloyd George, in his article on the occupation of tlie Ruhr, ‘ has once more junijied on the prostrate form of Germany with sabots that have come down with a thud that sickens the hearts of multitudes on both sides of the Atlantic whose friendship for France stood the losses and griefs of four years of war. Germany, having been overthrown and disarmed, and her arms bound with the thongs of a stem treaty, the process of dancing on her when she is down can at any time be performed with complete impunity by any of the Powers alone. No doubt there _ is some joy' for the unsportsmanlike mind in kicking a helpless giant who has once maltreated, you, and who, but for the assistance of powerful neighbours, would have done so a second time.

COST OF OCCUPATION. “The additional coal and timber that would be wrung out of Germany will barely cover the direct cost of collection. These punitive measures must in the end diminish the means of reparation, and therefore fall on the victor. The existing armies of occupation have already cost Germany over £300,000,000. How much better if this money had gone to rebuilding the devastated area I “Between the cost of occupation and the contributions already made. Germany has already paid threefold the indemnity Bismarck exacted in 1870, and this without making allowance for the surrendered colonies. DEPRECIATED MARK. “Let therefore no one approach this problem as if dealing with a recalcitrant country that was deliberately refusing to acknowledge any of her obligations under the Treaty. The indirect cost of these aggressive measures, to the victor and the vanquished alike, will be crushing. It is already accumulating in the mere threat of the depreciated value of the franc. There may be a rally, but I will be surprised if the improvement is more than temporary. All that is obviousfor the moment to the untrained eye is the way the mark is dragging the French and Belgian franc along in its downward course. The policy whicn demoralises German currency is also fatal to the solvency of French finance. “SHORT-TEMPERED.” “As long as reparation coal is dug out by bayonets and timber cut down by the sword, it is idle to talk of restoring the mark by putting German finance in order. No tariff, however nimble, could keep pace with' tho ' runaway mark. If the mere threat of force produced such a panic, what would be the of actual meas-,. ures? It is safe to predict that the French advance will not arrest tho mark’s flight. “The only chance of securing an early instalment of reparations was by pressing Germany .to. put. her-finances in order, and the only chance of a stability of the German currency. The German loan was by restoring the French statesmen have deliberately thrown these chances away, and the effect on their own currency must l-e grave. Frenchmen will have to pay in increased cost of living for th* venture dictated by short-sighted, short-tempered statesmanship. ANOTHER! MOTIVE P “When one thinks of the consequences, one is driven to ask whether the French politicians are really seeking reparations, or whether they are pursuing another purpose, quite incompatible with the recovery of money payments under the Treaty. “The feather-headed scribes who advocated this rash policy assume that France will be helped because Germany will be reduced to impotence. For how long? German disintegration is not unlikely, in consequence of this move. I know that is tne expectation. Frenchmen still hanker after the days when the Saxons, Bavarians, and Wurtemburgers were the allies, almost the vassals, of France hgainst Prussia. It was the lure which led Napoleon to his ruin. It is the attraction which is now drawing France once more to a sure doom. “Nothing can keep the Germans apart. They will reunite at a suitable moment- under more favourable conditions, • freed from external as well ae internal debt-. France will have lost her reparations, only retaining the hatred of an implacable foe. There is i:o knowing what will happen when a brave numbering sixty millions, find themselves faced with utter ruin. A REVOLT WILL COME. “The French proclamation, with its threat of the severest measures ' in case of recalcitrancy, is ominous of much that may happen. No people accustomed to natural independence will be long able to tolerate a foreign yoke. Herr Ouno’s action is the first manifestation of the revolt. It will grow in intensity. Germany will inevitably be driven to desperate courses. A Communist Germany would mfect Europe, and the European vitality is so lowered by exhaustion that it is in no condition to resist plague. Russia, with incalculable resources of I men and material, is at hand, needing all that Germany can best give and spare. Bolshevik leaders only require what Germany is so well-fitted to supply in order to reorganise their country and convert it into the most formidable State in Europe or Asia. FORGOTTEN LESSONS. “When the French troops marched on Essen they began a movement, tne most far-reaching, and probably the -most sinister in its consequences, that has been witnessed in Europe for many centqrie.s, and these people are the people, who after fifty years of patient, laborious waiting, demonstratled to tho world in 1918 Germany’s 'stupidity in abusing the victory in 1871. If the teacher so soon forgets his own special lesson the pupil is not likely to remember when fury overdimes terror.”