Foreign News: Ingratitude

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Premier Edouard Herriot arrived in the capital from triumphant visits to Britain and Belgium and found a cold, critical Parliament awaiting him. The lack of warm welcome was not in keeping with the effervescent exuberance displayed in many lands at the TIME of the issuance of the Chequers communiqué (TIME, June 30).

The Senate was categoric in its questioning. It wanted to know:

1) Was the Experts' Plan accepted without reserve by all the Allies, would it be put in operation without retouching?

2) Was it correct that the Ruhr would be evacuated only in proportion to payments made, what precautions would be taken for its reoccupation ?

3) Was any change of program envisaged as to occupation of the left bank of the Rhine?

4) Was France committed to support the admission of Germany to the League of Nations ?

5) Was Belgium in accord with France on the questions of reparations, of disarmament of Germany and of the latter's admission to the League ?

6) Had Italy been informed of what was being done?

7) How was German disarmament to be accomplished, what would be done if Germany paid no attention to the MacDonald-Herriot note?

8) Where and when would the interallied conference be held, which nations would be invited ?

9) Was England ready to make concessions in exchange for French sacrifices, particularly with regard to the French debt, and what was considered likely to be the eventual attitude of the United States in this matter ?

10) Had any formal agreements been made in London and Brussels ?

To this questionnaire Premier Herriot wrote a reply which he read to both Houses of Parliament and which was received by them without enthusiasm:

Chequers. "I went to Chequers at the cordial invitation of the British

Prime Minister to discuss with him the necessary arrangements for putting into operation the Experts' Plan. This plan had been ratified by the Reparations Commission and accepted by the preceding Government. I confirmed this acceptance."

Commercial Security. "It is very evident that the interests of the Allies, and especially those of France, demand above all that organization of the service to be created for administration of the guarantees should be assured by conditions which will give all security. The Allies must secure the commercial value of their claims on Germany. We cannot have a recurrence of the disillusion which followed the former establishment of a schedule of payments."

Ruhr. "As for the military occupation of the Ruhr, while the British Government has expressed its desire to see a return to invisible occupation after economic evacuation, there cannot be, for one moment, any question of abandonment of their liberty of decision by the French and the Belgian Governments."