France Must Dig Up Funds to Pay for Bad Bargain Owes United States Ten Billion Francs for lor Supplies Supplies Sup Sup- plies Purchased at End of 01 War PARIS March 9 United Press Press- Somehow and from some unexplored unexplored corner of the French taxpayers taxpayers' taxpayers taxpayers' tax tax- payers payers' pocket France must dig up francs between en now and August to pa pay off a bad bargain her wartime minister ot of fInance M. M Klotz made when he bought up the American army stocks That problem Is one of the most troublesome that faces Mo M. Poincare during the next twelve months Like Frenchmen lie he would like to see a miracle performed and the debt wiped out or reduced to a figure that fits the French national bankroll In his annual financial report for 1929 M. M Poincare speaks ot of the American ann army stock debt as the great unknown and redoubtable question but he links the army stocks with the French political debt to the United States The U. U S. S treasury department contrarily has alwa always s 's maIntaIned a distinction between between be- be tween the war loans and the army stocks purchase FRANC GOES DOWN France made a good bargain with the United tates but a bad affair for herself when she undertook to dispose of the army material She bought in dollars whIch were quoted d dat at 12 francs to the dollar when the deal was made Since then the franc has partIally collapsed and now now she must pay with dollars which cost 2560 2550 francs M. M Klotz acting In the name of the French government bought from th the A. A E. E F. F early in 1919 Army stocks materials Machinery and tools T This ls year she must pay for th army stocks and In 1930 for the railroad railroad rail rail- road material and the machinery The debt for army stocks was con con- into year ten 5 per cent I bonds which tall fall due August 1 1929 I France doesn't know yet just how much she lost by the bar bargain aln but caustic journalists still write of it as a t typical bargain and point out that no Frenchman should ever try to get the best ot of a shrewd American n in a swap All the sales have not yet been paId for but France has realized on papEr so far from the arm army stocks This is about 35 per cent of the sum she paId out It is hard to sa say just how the great loss was taken but the principal fault was the slump ot of the franc FOOD SPOILED Part ot the great stock of food spoiled before it could be distributed distributed to the population Machinery rusted in warehouses and the metal warehouses themselves sa sagged ged with broken backs and became total losses EnterprIsing thieves walked Into the vast motor depots and selected selected se- se a car put gas in it and drove oft off In that way thousands ot of cars were stolen I But It is still sUII possible to find thIs stock There are stores around the industrial sections of Paris still offering for sale repaired army shoes and uniforms slicker tents and year under The great Liberty motor trucks markEd with big lettering USA are still rolling roll roll- ing through h Paris up wonderfully after ten years ears The They are used on all the bIg buildIng jobs such as the subway construe construe-