WAR DEBTS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 November 1932, Page 3

WAR DEBTS

POSITION OUTLINED

HUGE FIGURES

LONDON, November 15

Great Britain's instalment of war debt which is due for payment to the United 'States on December 15th is 55,000,000 dollars, equal at par to (£20,000,000, but on th e present rate of exchange equal to £28,000,000. The French debt -similarly -due no .America next n.nnth is 19,000,000 dollars. As pointed out by Professor Maurice Gjerothwo-hl in the London ‘ Daily ' Tehgiia.ph,” the funded war indebtedness of the Allied Governments to the United States may b e appropriately summarised, in round figures, in t'i e following table:—

OWING TO U.S.A. Total ; funded capital Total and accrued payments interest, over 62 years. • £ £ Great Britain 915,000,000 2,282,000,000 France 827,000,000 1,407,000,000 Italy ... 420,000,603 495,000,000 Including the smaller- Powers, tne funded total of the Allied war debt s to America was £2,371,000,000, in rope.-t of which, over 62 years, America should receive a total of £4,553,000,000. Great Britain, it will b € observed, has treated htc own Aided debtors much more leniently, pit-hen eh it was largely on -their own behalf that she . oorio ve.d from America. The following table shows the position of Allied Europe’s funded war indebtedness to Great Britain : 10WING TO GREAT BRITAIN. Tbtal Total funded capital and refunds accrued interest, over 62yrs. £ £ France ... 653,0Cu,000 799,000,000 Italy ... 611,000,000 277,C00,0d0 Including th e small Powers (hut excluding Russia’s unfunded debt of £900,000,000), the total funded war indebtednt'os of -.he Allies to Great Britain is £1,350,000,000, in respect' of which, at the expiry of 62 years, she would have received but £1,188,000,000 in 'all, that i-s, less than the debts actually .funded.

A further interesting comparison between- the British and American debt funding settlements is afforded by the •fo’,lowing table, -which shows in percentages, -calculated on a: uniform basis ' 5 per cent, interest, what proportion of its debt to America each country is paying:

Gie-k-Britain pays U.S.A. 72 per cent France pays U.S.A. ... 42 -per cent Italy pays U.S.A.' ... 21 per cent Of her total debt to Great Britain .■France-"pays -Great Britain 38 per cent Italy pays Great Britain 14 per cent

“If now we turn once more to America as the ultimate creditor of 'Europe, including Great Britain, jt may be asked what she would lose by the cancellation of reparations and wrr debts? asks Professor Gerothwohl. The 'answer is provided, indirectly, by the .Young Plan and the agreements mad e at The H.igu e embodying it. She would forfejt a series of annuities from iher European debtors rising from roughW £4B 009.000 at the present dale to £85,000,000 in 1983^84. “Wiili America, for the sak e of world restoration and prosper! y, acquiesce in such a lens? Great Britain, it may be well to add, .has practically lost every penny o.f the £900,000,000 owed her by •Bur.sia, and has paid out to .America (6200,000,000 more than ahe has received from her combined European debtors. That already represents „• sacrifice of £1,100.000,000 —apart from the generosity of her eoncessons to France, Italy, and the European Allies generally.” It has been estimated by Sir Walte r Layton, editor of the “Economist,” that if all th j war debts were wiped |ut the relative positions of the debtors would be as follows:

Debt P e i ■ head Internal of popuDebt. lation. £ £ Or eat Britain .. 6:600,000. OPO 150 TTnited States . .. 3 200,000.000 27 France' ... . .. 2.300.000,000 56 Germany ... . ... 500,000,000 8