But these figures have but small interest, since the demands have been almost entirely purely arbitrary.

What we must see is if Germany can pay, and if, with a regime of restrictions and violence, she can hand over, not the many milliards which have been announced and which have been a deplorable speculation on the ignorance of the public, but a considerable sum, such as is that which many folk still delude themselves it is possible to have.

Germany has already consigned all her transferable wealth; the gold in her banks, her colonies, her commercial fleet, a large and even the best part of her railway material, her submarine cables, her foreign credits, the property of her private citizens in the victorious countries, etc.  Everything that could be handed over, even in opposition to the rights of nations as such are known in modern civilized States, Germany has given.  She has also hypothecated all her national goods.  What can she give now?

Germany can pay in three ways only: 

1.  Merchandise and food products on account of the indemnity:  coal, machines, chemical products, etc.

2.  Credits abroad coming from the sale of merchandise.  If Germany exports, that is sells eight milliard marks’ worth of goods abroad, she pays two milliards to the Reparations Commission.

3.  Property of private citizens.  Germany can enslave herself, ceding the property of her private citizens to foreign States or citizens to be disposed of as they wish.

Excluding this last form, which would constitute slavery pure and simple, as useless, as impossible, and calculated to parallel the methods in use among barbarous peoples, there only remain the first two methods of payment which we will examine briefly.

It must be remembered that Germany, even before the War, was in difficulties for insufficient avenues of development, given the restricted nature of her territory and the exuberance of her population.  Her territory, smaller than that of France and much less fertile, must now nourish a population which stands to that of France as three to two.

If we have had gigantic war losses, Germany, who fought on all the fronts, has had losses certainly not inferior to ours.  She too has had, in larger or smaller proportion, her dead and her mutilated.  She has known the most atrocious sufferings from hunger.  Thus her productive power is much diminished, not only on account of the grave difficulties in which her people find themselves (and the development of tuberculosis is a terrible index), but also for the lowered productive capacity of her working classes.

The statistics published by the Office of Public Health of the Empire (Reichsgesundheitsamt) and those given in England by Professor Starling and laid before the British Parliament, leave no doubt in the matter.

Germany has had more than 1,800,000 dead and many more than 4,000,000 of wounded.  She has her mass of orphans, widows and invalids.  Taken altogether the structure of her people has become much worse.