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A REVISION OF THE TREATY

CHAP.

that the August Financial Agreement, which muchimproved France 's position, was believed to interfereseriously with her existing rights. M. Doumer neverhad the pluck to tell his public the truth, although,if he had, it would have been clear that, in signingthe Agreement provisionally, he was acting in theinterests of his country.

The mention of the United States invites attentionto the anomalous position of that country under thePeace Treaty. Her failure to ratify the Treaty forfeits none of her rights under it, either inrespect of her share of the costs of the Army ofOccupation (which, however, is offset to a smallextent by the German ships she has retained), or inrespect of the repayment of her war advances toBelgium. 1 It follows that the United States isentitled, on the strict letter, to a considerablepart of the cash receipts from Germany in the nearfuture.

There is, however, a possible offset to these claimswhich has been mentioned already (p. 71) but mustnot be overlooked here. Under the Treaty privateGerman property in an Allied country is, in thecase of countries adopting the Clearing House Scheme,

1 Article 1 of the Treaty of Peace between Germany and the UnitedStates, signed on August 25, 1921, and since ratified, expressly stipulatesthat Germany undertakes to accord to the United States all the rights,privileges, indemnities, reparations, and advantages specified in the jointresolution of Congress of July 2, 1921, " Including all the rights and ad-vantages stipulated for the benefit of the United States under the Treatyof Versailles which the United States shall enjoy notwithstanding thefact that such Treaty has not been ratified by the United States."