A TEST CASE

Basing its claim on Article 235 of the Treaty of Versailles, the United States Government has sent the Reparations Committee a bill for $241,000,000 to defray the cost to date of the American army of occupation. Following closely on our refusal to go to Genoa and upon a near agreement among the Allied Finance Ministers as to the division of the German indemnity, the action of our government has provoked unfavorable comment abroad. The London "Chronicle", though admitting the justice of our claim, thinks it unfortunately timed; Andre Tardieu characterizes it as an "unfriendly act", and French opinion generally is that we should "tell it to Berlin".

To whom should we tell it? Apart from the $241,000,000, the chief interest of our claim lies in the fact that it raises squarely for the first time the question of the relative validity of the Treaties of Versailles and of Berlin. The Treaty of Versailles vests in "the Allied and Associated Powers" innumerable rights and titles, among them the right of having Germany pay the costs of the armies of occupation. Article 2 of our separate Treaty with Germany reserves to the United States all the rights to which "under the Treaty of Versailles . . . it is entitled as one of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers". "Therefore", say we to the Reparations Commission, "pay us our debts".

But the Commission demurs, with certain facts in mind. We didn't sign the Treaty of Versailles and it is some time since we ceased to be an "Associated Power", the Allies styling themselves "Allied" purely and simply. Is our lien, in consequence, on the Allies or on Germany? If on the Allies, do we share in a first mortgage or do we hold a second independently? Mr. Hughes has raised a pretty problem. Though the Allies feet that we are not entitled to an indemnity we did not help collect, it is reported from Paris that they will recognize the future validity of our Treaty if we will recognize the validity of theirs; but they will stipulate also that we help make their machinery work, as, for instance, in the collection of the German payments to which we are now laying part claim. As the Finance Ministers have referred the whole matter to their respective governments, interesting discussion is sure to follow.