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 E 130 The Nation [Vol. 134, No. 3474 ,
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  r Nearmg the Abyss  
  ET no one blink the facts. The European situation, and as little association with the rest of the world as is humanly  =
  I therefore the American situation, gets steadily worse. possible. ,
  More than ever it seems that because of the incapacity That way, of course, lies destruction. How often must  _
if of the present governments the world is approaching destruc- it be said that the world is so interrelated that there can be  
» tion. To what other conclusion can one come when one no possibility of any one country working out of the depres-  
r reads within a couple of days the news that the Lausanne sion without international cooperation? What we are wit-  
;_ conference has been indefinitely postponed; that Premier nessing is the paralysis of statesmanship abroad. To this we  °
 2 Laval seeks to evade the reparations and debts issue by post- are contributing to the very best of our ability. The day  
  poning the consideration of this subject until after the French after Walter Lippmann truthfully wrote that there was only ’ 
 f and American elections; that France, according to the one course for Europe which offered any hope, "that is to  
 ; Premier’s announcement, will not yield an iota in her stand face the problem in Europe on the principle of European  f`
 f A against disarmament without security; that Edouard Herriot solidarity,” we read Mr. Stimson’s incredible notice to this f f
 j violently assails, not only the Germans, but the United same Europe that “the United States Government would look  
  States for keeping itself aloof and not accepting a guaranty with displeasure on the formation of a united front by the  
‘ pact; that there is a break in the British Cabinet which com- debtor nations.” This, it appears, was sent to Europe at the  
Qi promises its action; and that the United States, in the form of beginning of the year. It was enough in itself to paralyze F 
  an official memorandum, actually goes so far as to forbid the every effort to bring the European nations to a wise agree-  
é debtor nations to form a united front to present their case ment on tariffs, disarmament, reparations, joint action in the  {
 f to us? Of the impudence of this last we shall have something matter of currencies, and the gold standard. We cannot con-  if
i to say later. As to the general situation, we can only point ceive of any greater effrontery or stupidity. lt is dictation ii; 
out that all this is wasting time when there is not a moment by the United States in a particularly offensive way, and it . *
to be lost. Can anyone question the reasonableness of the is bound to increase in all Europe the existing feeling of -°,
Z, comment of the London N ews-Chronicle that "unless some hostility to our government. As if this were not enough, we  
  method is speedily devised to wind up definitely and finally have Congress on record that it refuses to consider the if
si the reparations liabilities, Europe will drift from the present reopening of the debt question or an extension of the _,
V confusion to absolute catastrophe"? Of this there are daily inoratorium.  
· signs. There is not only the critical financial situation of Next, we have the reiteration of our stupid assertion  _?
  Austria, Hungary, Rumania, and Greece, but the unempl0y— that there is no connection between debts and reparations, Q
. ment in Germany has risen to the unprecedented figure of just as if under the Young Plan reparations payments were  
· 5,966,000 (an increase of 300,000 in two weeks), while the not intimately related to the debt payments to America, i
belief grows that Germany cannot much longer remain upon and as if reductions in war-debt payments to the United  {
the gold standard. States would not be passed on to Germany in the form of Q 
` Now if these facts, and many more, and the realization reduced demands for reparations; just as if Washington did  ,
that the Hoover moratorium has only five more months to not know that the instant Germany ceases payments to the  
_ run cannot induce the politicians of Europe and the United Allies, the Allies will not pay us. Washington sits back and  Tl
i States to handle the situation as sensible business men would, says every day that "the initiative must come from Europe in VZ
  what can 'bring them to their senses? As things stand, it any further discussion of reparations and debts,” and pro- j
i appears as if the French were determined to make the success ceeds to make that initiative just as difficult as possible by  i
., of the Geneva disarmament conference impossible. At the forbidding a round-robin to the United States. This is utter
  same time, neither the English nor the French statesmen folly. Apparently nothing can bring these alleged statesmen _
  have made any definite plan, nor agreed upon any policy for to their senses—not the plain evidence of the approaching ,
 . the Lausanne conference, when that gathering finally meets, bankruptcy of Europe, not the Communist uprising in Spain, ._
  if ever. Yet it was on December 25 last that Ramsay Mac- not the japanese aggression in Manchuria, not the revolt in ·_
lf, Donald dramatically declared: “The British Government is India. Must it be said again that those whom the gods `
le perfectly ready——ready to meet at once. For God’s sake, let would destroy they first make mad? We can at least be A
`5 us meet at once!" We have already seen a serious rift grateful to the German Reich that the Chancellor has de- ~, 
i` in his own Cabinet upon the tariff issue, which prevented manded a final decision on reparations prior to July l. Until z
  his Foreign Minister from going to Paris to begin over again that question is definitely settled, none of the other great
  the weary round of conversations with the French. Is it economic questions now pressing for solution can be settled.  _,
  any wonder that public sentiment in England looks toward If there is not a show-down by then, it will doubtless be too , 
,r an abandonment of all further interest in the attitudes of late. The world cannot drift indefinitely. Every hour f
il the United States and France, and favors devoting all the brings us nearer to the point where in several countries tor-  ‘
" energies of the country toward developing the Empire by tured humanity will rise and seek to smash everything in the .
 t itself? Similarly in the United States the prevailing note hope that a new system of government, or no government at F
is that we must write off all our bad debts, withdraw abso- all, will bring them some relief from the terrible suffering f
Q lutely from Europe and from participation in every confer- and misery of the present situation. Into this the statesmen
', ence, and devote ourselves to carrying on as best we may with have got us; out of it they seem unable to find a road.  ‘
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