King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 9, 1924. THE WAR DEBTS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 2053, 9 December 1924, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 9, 1924. THE WAR DEBTS.

Judging' by the firmness shown by the Baldwin Government, it is not likely that the action of France, in opening negotiations with America for the funding of her debt to that country, will be allowed to go unchallenged. No such overtures have been made to Britain, who loaned to France the enormous sum of £601,645,368 during the war. No effort has been made by France to repay either any part of the capital or interest of this debt, and yet America, whose assistance was very belated, is to have first consideration in repayment. The total cost of the war to Britain, including leans to her Allies and the Dominions, was £9,590,000,000, and of this amount £1,494,000,000 was loaned to her Allies. Not one of these, up to the present, has made any effort to repay this or the interest, and the war loans with interest at 3.lst March, 1922, owing to Britain byother countries amounted to £1,928,000,000. Britain herself is meeting her obligations to America, and is the only nation out of all those involved in the war that so far has attempted to do so. If France is in the

position to meet her debts to America, she should also be able to consider those owing to Britain, who practically saved both herself and the rest of Europe in the fighting line, besides incurring a huge debt. The British taxpayer is still bearing the burden of these enormous, outstanding debts, whlie America, who is surfeited with wealth, is to bo repaid the debts due 1o her by France. Britain had postponed the question of the inter-Allied war debts pending the apportionment of the indemnities by the Dawes scheme, but the latest developments will now make any further delay impossible, and in order to safeguard her own interests, Britain must now bring pressure to bear on France for repayment. The American people have peculiar ideas in regard to the war debts. A professor of that country, commenting on the matter, stated that an agreement seems very far oft', and that the American people are strongly of the opinion that they should be paid. The astounding announcement is made that Britain lost her opportunity in 1922, by not having the courage and foresight to state that while she was willing to fulfil her obligations, she would renounce what was due to her by her Allies, who in turn would have followed suit by cancelling what they owed each other. This magnanimity on Britain’s part would have resulted in America taking similar action in regard to the war debts due to her. Considering that America made more money from the war than any nation, that she only came in at a late stage, and her loss in "life was less than any of the large Powers engaged, it was only natural to expect that the first overtures for cancellation of the debts should come from that country. The question of the war debts has hung fire now for many years, but if France is taking steps to repay America without giving Britain any consideration, a climax has been reached, and Britain may insist on not only France, but her other war debtors making provision for the funding of their debts due to her. it will involve the greatest financial settlement the world has ever known. There is every possibility of further friction in Europe over this settlement, but Britain’s patience has been taxed to the utmost, and she has shown a forbearance which no other country would have done under similar circumstances.