Dr. Stresemann denied with indignation that Germany had ever engineered
the collapse of the mark. But we should like better proof than his assertion. In the beginning the German Government were guilty of every sort of financial recklessness. Now they have, of course, lost control. The Government, Dr. Stresemann declared, would not hesitate to make a levy on capital, and he looked to the representatives of industry to co-operate willingly with the Government. Incidentally he referred to the important memorandum of the Institute of Economics at Washington, which had estimated Germany's payments from the Armistice to September, 1922, at about £1,250,000,000. But the German Government estimated their payments much higher—at £2,100,000,000. The Chancellor said, however, that he would not enter into polemics ; he wanted rather some plan that would restore the unwritten laws of international intercourse. The French Government continually talked about guarantees and yet Germany had offered guarantees. There was no disagreement in principle, and he greatly regretted that none of the Allies had answered the German memorandum of June 7th in which Germany showed herself willing to mortgage most of her resources. Even private property was brought into the scheme of guarantees.
Previous page
