Evening Star Newspaper, July 2, 1936, Page 13

CLAUDEL REVEALS ROOSEVELT OFFER Pleaded With France for “Gesture” on War Debts, Envoy Says. How President Roosevelt, shortly after assuming office, appealed to France, in a conversation with Jormer Premier Herriot, to make a gesture toward settlement of her war debt is revealed here by the jormer French Ambassador to the United States. M. Claudel was present during most of the meetings between the French statesman and the President in April, 1933, prior to the London economic conference. BY PAUL CLAUDEL. By Radlo to The Star. PARIS, July 2 (N.AN.A)—When I arrived in America in the Spring | of 1927, I found the country still ringing with the memory of the sufferings and victories of the great war. The names of Foch, Joffre, Pe- tain, Gouraud and Clemenceau had become legendary and almost on the same level as those of Lafayette, Rochambeau and De Grasse. The glories of St. Mihiel and the Argonne ranked with those of Yorktown and Gettysburg. My first duty was to preside over immense meetings of veterans all over the Union and hear the Marseillaise sung and France cheered with an enthusiasm and a sincerity that ‘warmed my heart. Every post of vet- erans in this enormous territory was @ center where their feeling of friend- ship was fostered and propagated. Circumstances favored the develop- ment of these sentiments for several years. The Lindbergh flight had aroused general enthusiasm. march of the American Legion through the Arc de Triomphe had been a success. Prosperity had en- couraged travel and our splendid liners landed crowds of American tourists every week at Havre. Bad Years Were to Come. Premier Briand’s pacific and liberal policy had won for him and for us an enormous popularity, even in those parts of the American Nation which previously had been most indifferent. Signature of the nonaggressive pact and outlawry of war had provoked impressive demonstrations which are difficult to recall without a melan- choly smile. For bad years were to come. After 1929 came the economic erisis, the indications of which were as full of doom to an American as A The | if it had been the hand of Jehovah writing on the wall of Babyion. The debts question had been given pro- visional settlement by my predecessor, Henry Berenger, and the Dawes and Young agreements, accompanied by a generous flood of loans in answer to the pathetic groans of Germany, had created a sort of mirage through which appeared the possibilities of liquidation by degrees. A reality which became more and more severe eventually put a stop to these il The whole construction of calcula- tions, based on the narrow foundation of German payments which them- selves only were made possible by American money, crashed to the ground in 1932 after having held out hopes of welcome annuities to all al- lied countries and indeed to the whole world. ‘The Hoover plan, which has been so severely criticized, was really nothing but the means of compelling every nation to realize the disagreeable reality of this crash. Experts declared with simple voice that Germany could pay no more. Then began the de- plorable discussion, the echoes of which |are not yet stilled. Did the German default annul the obligations of the Allies, and particularly of France, or were these obligations, which arose partly from circumstances arising sub- sequently to the Armistice, independent of German payments as the American Government had always maintained. “Useless Controversy.” A useless and irritating controversy was maintained for many months on this subject in thousands of bad news- paper articles. In reality, the question of legal interpretation had long since failed to have any interest. In face of the manifest impossibility of execu- tion, there remained only the question of fact. It is astonishing that Amer- icans so open-minded, so intelligent and so practical in matters of private business did not see this, but it must not be forgotten that the country was in the worst year of the crisis when its whole economic structure seemed in THE EVENING danger of collapse under the weight cf private debts. How could a politician have said to his constituents: “True, we have not been able to do much for you, but I can give you the good news that, while your debts remain as they were, we have just reduced those of England, France and the other European coun- tries by nine-tenths. Therefore, my friends, you will have te add to your own burdens that of the loans con- ns. | tracted to finance our Allies and to enable them to maintaip their arma- ments.” It was thus that the question of debts presented itself at the end of 1932, at the height of a political and financial crisis and on the eve of a presidential election which was to mark the collapse of the Republican party. It was obviously insoluble in spite of the unquestionable good will of the Republican administration then in office. France Decides Not to Pay. But what could be expected of politi- cians already doomed? England un- derstood this and submitted under protest to payment of the December instaliment, She was followed by most other European States. France alone decided not to pay, after scenes in d Forover beving 12" ol ana paying SFOT Not Just Maple ... BUT HARD NORTHERN MAPLE An Attractive Suite 4 MAJOR PIECEs *124-%° A charming Bed Room Suite of the better maple. The four major pieces at $124.50 include the dresser and vanity with hanging mirrors, the chest of drawers and the double bed. The night table, partly illustrated, is $10 and there is a bencn with the group at $8.50, Pieces Sold Separately Bed, double or twin__$21.00 Dresser Mitror —..__$7.75 $28.50 Chest of Drawers_._$29.75 Many Other Maple Groups and Pieces MAYER & CO. Seventh Street Between D and E STAR, WASHINGTON, Parliament which are not to be for- gotten and in spite of the resistance of Herriof. And yet our debt included not only the sums advanced for our reconstruc- tion, but also commercial obligations of $400,000,000, representing goods fur- nished to us at a price fixed after nego- tiatlons and which goods we had, in great part, sold. Here might have been found the means of making the expect- ed gesture to prove our good intentions, for the Chamber of Deputies would doubtless have hesitated at the idea of being guilty to obtaining goods un- der false pretense. I made the sugges- tion to Paris. No notice was taken of it. A new opportunity now presented itself to us. The Republican adminis- tration had just been swept away and Roosevelt had become President, Al- most immediately I had two interviews, which I remember with emotion, with Quantities. Visit our new BEER and ALE department. The largest selection in the city. . ing! nationally advertised quality find at the GIANT. PINEAPPLE For minute- needs . . late, we're OPEN Saturday JULY 4th UNTIL ARGO RED SALMON - 2 can FELS NAPTHA . b “v" GOFFEE reg. bars by the b OUS! PEACHE HERSHEY’S CHOGOLATE SYRUP, 2 all those last- . and those that you've for- gotten until almost teo FREE STONE Hiley Bells D. C., THURSDAY this great statesman for whom I have an admiration equaled only by that in- spired by Albert, King of the Belgians. Nothing can equal the cordiality and sincerity with which this true gentle- man, typical of all that is purest and best in the American race and tradi- tion, held out his hand to France and expressed a desire to see established between the two republics work of con- cord and collaboration. This desire took the form of a request for a visit of representative Frenchmen who would command the same authority as Ramsay MacDonald, who was then about to cross the Atlantic. No one was as fully qualified as Edouard Her- tiot to be this Frenchman and at the end of April he arrived in Wash- ington. I have again looxed over my notes of the conversations which took place. They extended to all questions then SPEND A GLORIOUS FOURTH . . . at home or picnic- We've looded our shelves with all the holiday necessities” you've ever imagined, plus those staple brands of foods you always FNPLRERENRRRINRY DEL MONTE FANCY WHOLE SLICES Lge. No. 2 "= 16e 15¢ funl 16 ox. cans WHITE HOUSE Steel- Cut Vu COFFEE ~o» 1 —— lnll ¢ WHITE HOUSE APPLE BUTTER ' JELL-O LIBBY'S SWEET PEAS - Post Toashes BEECHNUT TOMATO/] 2 5c JUICE JULY 2, 1936. pending in the world and revealed on nearly all of them an American com- | i munity of views or at least undencm\ with our own. On the debts question President Roosevelt’s position can be summed up in a single appeal which he made. “T beg of you,” he said, “to help me do something. You see what I have al- ready accomplished in the few weeks of my presidency. Today I hold out my hand to you, M. Herriot, with the same sincerity as did Wilson to Joffre and Viviani.” I am quoting the President word for word. “Make a gesture, as limited as you like, and you can be assured that I shall place it at the scrvice of ap understanding all-authority which can command with Congress at this mo- ment, and that means something, as you may have noticed.” One of America's Largest Food Markets. 23 DROMEDARY ¥ 2513 LIBBY’S ORANGE 4-0z. Can ’ JUICE Calumet Baking Powder With Each Purchase of FLOUR . 23| COFFEE i 22¢ Swansdown Cake CARNATION EVAPORATED + 39¢ 25 A rich blend of coffees brings out finest ome snd o best in 11l Made blenlerl of WHITE Carrier 1 5c DEL MONTE . “THE FIRST OF THE NEW CROP” EARlY JUNE PEAS . ... .. ONE DOZEN CANS, 80¢ MRS. MAYONNAISE or GRAPEFRUIT ‘These were not mere vague words, There was already on the President’s desk an extremely ingenious plan, | drawn up by an expert on his staff, | which would have considerably re- duced our commitments. The plan was not even seriously examined in Paris. French opinion was obstinate. It contemplated this painful and per- haps definite rupture with our Amer- ican friends in a spirit which was not only without regret but even contained & certain joy, although it filled me with real despair after so many hopes and efforts. In America the anger and indigna- tion were profound. Our goods were boycotted. American tourists passed us by. All our French organization in America, created and maintained with so much trouble, declined. Amer- ica turned her face away from Europe SPEND A GLORIOUS FOURTH .. A—13 and devoted herself, not without suc- cess, to her own affairs. Three years have now passed and we can strike a baiance on the opera- tion which we undertook so lightly. I ask any honest reader whether, in view of all that Furope and France have lost on the other side of the Atlantic, we can congratulate ourselves on having alienated America. Were we right to reject the hand which the President offered us? A glance at our unstable alliances, at our growing isolation and at our military, financial and economic sit- uation can furnish the reply. Perhaps | & change of heart is beginning to take | place among the more intelligent | Frenchmen and the recent speech of Premier Leon Blum to the American Club is an indication of it. (Copyright. 1936. by the North American Newspaper Alliance. Inc.) Prices Effective THURSDAY, FRIDAY and SATURDAY MORNING Visit our new BEER and ALE department. By the case, in bottles and the new cans. . and save a good part of what you spend on food by buying the easy, eco- nomical, energy-saving GIANT way. 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