The German Government last week asked President Harding " to
act as mediator in the question of reparations and to fix the sum to be paid by Germany to the Allied Powers." They promised to do whatever he thought fit to ask of them. The President at once refused to fall into this very obvious trap. He invited Germany to " formulate such proposals as would present a proper basis for discussion," and promised to bring them to the attention of the Allies. His reply caused mingled annoyance and relief in Berlin, where the Opposition contended that Dr. Simons, the Foreign Minister, had no right to pledge himself to accept an American estimate of the amount to be paid in reparation. Dr. Simons, on Friday, April 22nd, told the Reichstag that, in framing new proposals, he must "go to the very limit of what the German people could perform." On Saturday and Sunday Mr. Lloyd George and M. Briand met in
conference at Lympne, and discussed the French proposals for the occupation of the Ruhr Valley if Germany had no genuine offer to make by May Day.- On Monday the Reparations Commission, in view of Germany's refusal to transfer the gold reserve of the Imperial Bank to Cologne, ordered her to deposit £50,000,000 in gold at the Bank of France by Saturday.
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