Foreign News: Lausanne Peace on Earth

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Most credit for inducing the Lausanne Conference to come to some sort of an agreement last week belonged to snowy-haired, silver-tongued James Ramsay MacDonald who suffered agonizing headaches from overworking his weak eyes. When the long grind of 24 days ended, climaxed by 60 hours of almost ceaseless negotiation, statesmen and correspondents gave way completely to their emotions.

"C'est fait! C'est fait! C'est fait!" cried Premier Herriot of France groggily. "It's done! It's done! It's done!" Espying a blonde German newspaper woman and a brunette French one, he hugged them both at once, then kissed each on both cheeks. Seasoned correspondents threw facts to the winds, wrote into the leads of their dispatches that "Europe's Reparations problems were settled finally and completely today" (United Press); "France and Germany have reached a complete agreement" (Associated Press) ; "Europe settled her Reparations dispute today" (Universal Service).

Such was not the case. The published agreement reached and signed at Lausanne is tentative. Moreover the signatories made a "gentlemen's agreement," the text of which was kept secret for 24 hours. In effect these two agreements: 1) Provide publicly a moratorium on the Reparations which Germany owes the Allies until after the coming U. S. elections and 2) create quietly a European "United Front" to force cancellation by the U. S. of most of what the Allies owe in War Debts, after which they will proportionately cancel Germany's Reparations debt to them.

The cost of cancellation to each U. S. man, woman & child would be about $78 if paid today in taxes.

One of the few newspapers in the world to state the facts squarely and at once was London's Financial News which declared, "There is reason to fear America may not take too kindly to an arrangement which so blatantly passes the buck to her and which she may regard as little short of a conspiracy to defraud."

"Peace on Earth. . . ." Such are the facts, but the motives and emotions of the statesmen at Lausanne last week did them credit. So many conferences since the War have ended in nothing at all. It was an historic moment when the Chancellor of Germany, having battled the whole night for a clause wiping out what his people call the "War guilt lie," finally gave in at 3 p. m. saying:

"You have won a great victory, my French friend."

It was an inspiring moment when Premier Herriot, warmly clasping Chancellor von Papen's hand exclaimed:

"We French have listened with emotion to the story of the sufferings of the Ger man people. . . . The Frenchman who is speaking to you desires that we be united in a common thought, in those noblest of words, Peace on Earth, good will to men!"

It was a great moment when the rich and moving voice of Scot MacDonald solemnly proclaimed: "We have reached, I believe, the best conclusion that could be reached for world peace, especially for European peace!"

Outstanding Achievement, If the Lausanne agreement is ratified by Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Belgium—a very big IF—the outstanding achievement will be to reduce German Reparations by 99%, to a payment of 1¢ to $1.