Poincare's Week

Premier Raymond Poincare, ever an arch militarist, took full advantage of last week's war scare in the Belgian Parliament (see INTERNATIONAL) to trumpet through the inspired Parisian press that France must drastically increase her armaments. While this propaganda was at its height, he announced to the Chamber that the first important measure to be presented by the Cabinet during the present session (TIME, Nov. 22 et seq.) will be a bill appropriating several billion francs for armaments and fortification of the Franco-German and Franco-Italian frontiers. Marshal Foch, appearing before the Chamber in full uniform, declared: "Germany is disarmed in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, but France must always be prepared against a nation of 70,000,000 people." Since the Premier ruled out debate, last week, on the Franco-British and Franco-U.S. debt settlements, neither of which has been ratified by the Chamber, it was implicit that these will not be voted on for many months to come.

To circumvent this issue, Premier Poincare suddenly made public, last week, a letter from him to Chancellor Churchill of the British Exchequer, declaring that the French treasury will pay to Britain -L-3,000,000 on Sept. 15 next, and -L-3,000,000 more on March 15th, 1928. These are the sums due Britain from France in the unratified Franco-British debt settlement. By simply paying them, without ratification or discussion of the debt settlement, the Premier signified his intention last week, of forcing the debtors of France to take what they can get when they can get it. Pursuing this policy, he cabled the French commercial attache in Washington, to ascertain whether the U. S. Treasury would accept $30,000,000 this year, "without prejudice to the unratified debt settlement."

Chancellor Churchill of the British Exchequer immediately announced, last week, that Britain will accept what amounts to a "hand out" from France. Should the U. S. follow suit a most important precedent would be created, a precedent greatly to the advantage of France, who might come to adopt the policy of "handing out" to her creditors what and when the French Premier may please..