THE MILD REPERCUSSIONS OF A DEFT DEVALUATION

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Next, the Mark. Altogether, the French devaluation has succeeded well enough so far to prompt some speculation that other governments might be encouraged to make more frequent, but modest changes in the official values of their currencies to bring them into line with reality. An early test of that theory is coming in the German elections of Sept. 28, which are turning into a sort of referendum on whether to increase the value of the mark. The Christian Democrats, dominant partners in the coalition government, argue that the French devaluation removes any need for a German revaluation, because it has diminished the gap between the true value of the franc and the mark. The junior-partner Social Democrats contend that the mark remains undervalued in terms of other currencies. Polls show the Socialists leading, largely because they have convinced many voters that revaluing the mark upward will help to keep German prices steady. If and when the mark is revalued, the two most important moves toward a needed realignment of European currency ratios will have been accomplished. Even if the mark's value remains pegged at 250, France's devaluation has strengthened the much buffeted international monetary system by removing a source of uncertainty. After the chronic crises that began with the British devaluation, nothing so calms the nerves of moneymen as a major devaluation followed by an anticlimax.