Dawes, an American, began as a fledgling lawyer
Out West, defending farmers against the railroads
But this career ended. Into banking he would go,
And from Chicago banker, eventually to U.S. Comptroller.
When the War began, he asked for a related position:
By war’s end, in France, he was general of Allied supplies.
When Germany balked at paying steep reparations,
France had responded by occupying lands. Surprised,
Germans self-imploded their economy,
And the U.S. was asked to set up a Commission
On Allied Reparations. The “Dawes Plan” would be,
To modify, reorganize, monitor and see the fruition
Of terms – to improve, in particular, foreign relations
Between France and Germany that “the Locarno Pact” envisioned.
June Edvenson 