More Rumblings

Last week the French stated that they would confiscate all the Ruhr Valley industries, punish sabotage with death and resistance with imprisonment. This order, not yet promulgated, in no way affects the subterranean efforts for a "settlement" which have been going on for some weeks at Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, even Washington. The French have no intention of staying their hand in the Ruhr until definite preliminaries to a settlement of the Ruhr and reparations problem have been agreed upon.

The Belgian Cabinet crisis, occasioned by the resignation of Premier Theunis, continued to slow down negotiations between Germany and the Allies. Premier Theunis contracted to form another Cabinet. In the discussions of the past fortnight Belgium has been relatively inactive.

An exchange of views has been going on between London and Paris. In the near future a meeting between Premiers Baldwin and Poincare will take place.

The situation at present is--so far as an armistice between the Franco-Belgians and Germany is concerned --that France still insists on the abandonment of passive resistance in the Ruhr as a primary condition to a subsequent conference. Germany, on the other hand, will not consent to the French demand. As a result of Anglo-French and Anglo-German feelers it can be stated definitely that this difficulty is not insuperable and is likely to be solved by a compromise.