A conference of Allied. financiers and officials ,met.iu Parisiast week
to draw up a plan for the reconstruction of _Geri-teal and Eastern Europe, which is to .be considered by the Allied Ministers at Cannes. They adopted the British proposal for an inter- national -company, with a capital of $20,000,000 te be subscribed by groups of privata industrialists in each country that should take part. The company would first of all put the railways iii order. The conference stipulated that the reign ,of law must be re-established, and that private property must be reapected- conditions which would seem to exclude Bolshevik Russia. Further, it was declared that the currency problem must be solved; though no cut and dried solution is available. We have heard of too many grand schemes of this sort within the past three years to feel very hopeful about this. one. We should like to say here that we hope that if at Cannes any concession is made to Germany as regards reparations, by means of a moratorium or otherwise, a clear distinction will be drawn between Treaty debts and private debts. - Carelessness might cause some confusion. We agree that a moratorium for repara- tions may be.necessary, but there is no reason whatever why private traders should enjoy its benefits under.a misapprehension when all the time they are perfectly able and willing.-to pay.
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