DEBT AN& DISARMAMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 11, 13 July 1931, Page 9

DEBT AN& DISARMAMENT

, The suggestion that war debt re-' duction ' should bo linked with armament reduction was made by Mr. Edward N. Hurley, a member of the World Wai" Debts Commission, last January. A slight yearly easing of the burden oif foreign debt payments would speed the economic recovery b£ other countries, reopen America's export markets, and furnish employment for. thousands of workers, said Mr. Hurley.' In the five years-preceding tho depression the sixteen debtor nations had purchased 1,550,000,000 dollars' worth of goods annually from tho United States. In 1930 theso purchases had fallen by 344,000,000 dollars, and tho loss to American workmen had been 215,000,----000 dollars in wages. < * ." . Mr. Hurley proposed that, tlio war debts should bo cut by 50 pei- cent, over <a period of .thirty years. At the rate of 1-J per cent, a year, the reduction at: tho end/of the first, ten years would amount to 15.per cent, of tho total debt due to tho United States. Another ten years .would sec a further reduction of 171 per cent., and a second 17i per cent, would bo cut from'the debt at the end of the third ton-year period. ' • : ' Mr. Hurley drew attention to the fact that 700,000 workmen were needed to lill the orders which1 the European nations lodged with the United States each year. With 7,000,000 unemployed in Europe, the outlook for 1931 was not promising, and he feared a further decline in export figures. Ho proposed, therefore, that tho reductions of the war debts should bo made, provided that the nations concerned made cuts in their war budgets. He pointed out that for tho five years from 1925 to 1929 the nations involved had appro-, 'priated. 7,024,030,000 dollars for' armaments: for 1930 alone the war budget was 1,500,000,000 dollars. Tho United States itself was also.to bo a party to the plan/for reduction of armaments. The rate of reduction proposed by Mr. Hurley was 2* ,per cent, annually for tho first ten years, basing the annual amount on the 1929 figures of-1,500,----000,000 dollars. This would amount to 37,500,000 dollars for, tho first decade, while at< the end of the twenty years the reduction of 1920 expenditure should be 50 per ..cent. Tlie : United States alone spent i.|),049 ? 000 ) 000 dollars on armaments from .1925 .to 1929, so that her annual saving would be 16,507,----550 dollars if tho 102!) figuro of 075,----302,000 dollars was taken. ' , The plan was not very well received in ■ Europe at tho time," the financial experts of. tho. Loague pointing out that while tho scheme might appeal to Rumania and Jugo-Slavia, it would notappeal to Britain and France,-,who did not wish for more American goods but to sell America mbro of their own goods. Much depended upon" whether the plan would include a proportionate amount of German reparations, for this was considered to be the only way in which the European situation could be bettered. The suggestion of linking Avar debt reduction with disarmament, however, received tho strongest possible endorsement by- League- authorities. France, once more, stood out and found America's role objectionable. ANOTHER PLAN. But the following month, in the French political-economic weekly "I'Europe Nouvellc," Count Vladimir Onneston ■ suggested a. similar course, with joint action by the' United States and Prance —France foregoing half hinpayments under the unconditional part of the Young Plnn for 1031 and 1932, receiving 979,000,000 francs instead of 1,959,000,000 francs and by.reducing her armament expenditure by approximately tho amount of reparations waived, provided that Germany reduced . her armament budget in corresponding proportion. Mr. William Green, president of the American Federation of Labour, also gave support to the movement to cut war debts. In a recent speech he declared that ffthis was one of the fundamental things necessary to end present economic depression by reducing tax burdons and restoring world confidence and purchasing power." Tho International Chamber of Commerce, meeting in Washington in May (though only after considerable debate), decided to investigate the question of debt and disarmament. The conference suffered somewhat from the speech of President Hoover on tho opening day' when he announced that the United States did not. intend lv change Us policy..