Premiers' Conference

"The best laid schemes o' mice and men . . ."--both Premiers Ramsay MacDonald and Edouard Herriot were evidently conscious of these simple words of Poet Burns.

Premier Herriot of France rushed to Britain (TIME, June 30) ; then rushed from Britain to Belgium (TIME, July 7) ; then from Belgium to France, where he promptly got into trouble with the Parliament (TIME, July 14).

As Premier MacDonald's notes of invitation to the Premiers' Conference in London, addressed to the interested Powers, were mainly responsible for Premier Herriot's predicament, their author announced last week that he was off to Paris to aid his stricken colleague.

Arriving with a cold and a headache in the gay Capital of France, which received him most ungaily, he proceeded to defend his confrere. The two Premiers had a heart-to-heart talk. After various conferences, Mr. MacDonald was seen with a wan smile, for his exertions on behalf of Edouard had caused him excessive fatigue. He declared that neither he nor the French Premier was a magician--"we cannot wave a wand and accomplish miracles." But he declared that they were both, substantially, in agreement.

The substance of that agreement was a virtual compromise. Premier MacDonald, on his own initiative, had suggested to the invites of the Premiers' Conference a scheme to make the Permanent Court of International Justice ultimately responsible for deciding possible default by Germany under the Experts' Plan.

However, M. Herriot's Opposition, and, it was feared, some of the Government parties, saw in the British Premier's scheme the snapping of a vital thread which enabled France to control reparations questions through the Reparations Commission (TIME, July 14). The Premier was forced to see the logic of this argument, and in order to clear the matter up the two Premiers decided:

1) To confirm the powers of the Reparations Commission specifically with regard to its power to declare Germany in default.

2) To invite, at the Premiers' Conference, the U. S. to name an official member of the Reparations Commission, whose chief duty will be to decide on German default under the Experts' Plan. Failing this, it was decided to invite an American to act as supervisory agent of reparations, and the name of Owen D. Young was put forward.

Back again in London, Premier MacDonal'd unfolded his sad tale to the House of Commons: "An unfortunate situation having arisen in Paris which threatened to destroy the work done to arrange for the interallied conference on application of the Experts' Reports, I went to Paris to try to remove it."

The remainder of his speech was corroborative of what has been above described. He ended : "Perhaps I may be allowed to add a personal note to express gratitude for the very cordial way in which I, as head of the British Government, was received by all parties during my short stay in Paris."

Ex-Premiers Baldwin, George and Asquith promised the Premier a hot debate on his trip to Paris, but nothing obstructive was contemplated. In Paris, Premier Herriot received an almost unanimous vote of confidence from the Senate, in connection with the Premiers' Conference.