NEWS OF THE WEEK T HE character of the crisis over
Reparations can be almost described in the single ejaculation, " So near and yet so far ! " The French determination that passive resistance in Germany must cease before there can be any negotiations is still the one obstacle in the way. The road to a settlement is otherwise almost clear, but the obstacle that remains is a huge one. When we go to press on Thursday the French reply to the British Memorandum has not been pub- lished, but the Westminster Gazette states that the reply is extremely friendly in tone. It is definitely declared, nevertheless, that the German guarantees offered are insufficient and must be replaced by others of an exploitable nature. But the chief point in the reply. is the offer that if the Germans will end passive resist- ance in the Ruhr, France and Belgium will revert to their original idea of a peaceful mission. Something like a threat, it is said, follows—a threat that unless Germany surrenders not only will the present con- ditions continue, but the pressure will be made heavier. The only consoling fact in a reply which proves how little and yet how much stands in the way of a settle- ment is the obvious desire of M. Poincare to keep on intimate terms with Great Britain.
* *
