Bridge

The news of the week resembled an international three-handed bridge game between France, Britain and the U. S., with Germany as perpetual dummy and Italy and Belgium hanging around the table full of suppressed advice. France's hand was full of trumps; Britain and the U. S. were unable to take a trick.

M. Poincare accepted the British Government's proposal that a common Allied invitation be sent to the U. S. inviting that nation to participate in a reparation conference under the aegis of the Reparations Commission. He held that the experts taking part in the conference must limit their advice to specifying Germany's " present" capacity to pay reparations.

From a semi-official source it was understood that Britain, although moderately well satisfied with the French note, had sent a note to Paris which indirectly indicated that she would prefer that Germany's " future " capacity to pay also come up for discussion.

M. Poincare cabled M. Jusserand, French Ambassador at Washington, that as the U. S. Government had banned discussion of inter-allied debts, France must bar discussion of a reduction of Germany's debt to. her. He also stated that France would accept no negitiations which brought up the question of the occupation of the Ruhr. In his Sunday sermon at Brive he was as intractable as ever and accused the Germans of being " able to pay the cost in Anglo-Saxon countries of frenzied propaganda to inspire the pity of charitably inclined souls."

It was stated that the Coolidge Administration would decline to take part in the proposed conference if France, alone of all the Allied na- tions, persisted in limiting the freedom of action of experts, who are to act only in an advisory capacity.

Italy expressed herself anxious to see the U. S. interest herself in the reparations problem, but regretted that Secretary of State Hughes had eliminated a discussion of interallied debts and reparations as a single question.

Belgium favored a full inquiry by the proposed conference, thereby disassociating herself from her colleague, France.