If the German Government sincerely desired to help the Allies to repair their losses, the Allies would still be ready to make allowances for the difficulties of Germany, but the counterproposals had convinced the Allies that the German Government did not intend to carry out its treaty obligations, or else was not strong enough to face selfish and short-sighted opposition, and insist on the necessary sacrifices.
If this were due -to the fact that German opinion did not permit the Government to carry out its obligations, that made the situation all the more serious, and the leaders of opinion must realize that the Allies would not permit avy further faltering in regard to the treaty. The Allies must act on the assumption that the German Government was not merely in default, but was deliberately in default.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.