THE WAR DEBTS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3446, 22 March 1932, Page 4

THE WAR DEBTS

Some members of the United States Senate appear to have been wildly excited at a rumour that the administration intended to re-open negotiations on the war debt settlement. The rumour was denied by Senator Reed, speaking on behalf of President Hoover, who said: "Congress had plainly decided, and it has practically been unanimously decided by both Houses, that the burden of war debts must rest where it properly belongs—on the people who got the money." This statement lacked confirmation at a later stage, when Senator Glass, who was Secretary of the Treasury when the war loans were granted, made the statement that it might very soon become an advantage to the United States to modify and even cancel the debts. The debate was a short but stormy one, and provides a striking example of American opinion on this worldwide subject. On the one hand is the narrow and bigoted section which believes that their country has

a perfect right to demand payment of these debts, forgetting that the money borrowed was used in the interests of the United States as well as the countries that received the money to carry on the war. There (are two other sections that favour a modification and even cancellation of the war debts. One of these sections advocate such a policy on the plea of justice, and the other because it believes that the wiping out of the war debts would be in the best interests of their own country, and the world generally. The politicians, however, for their own selfish ends, will not favour any change of policy, and demand what they term their "rights" for payment. These cheap politicians are not feeling too happy over their attitude, for the prosperity that they hoped for at the expense of the rest of the world has not materialised. On the contrary, conditions in the United States are going from bad to worse. A message received yesterday stated that the United States Government is contemplating an extensive sales campaign to place some of her surplus wheat and cotton in European and other countries, but seeing that the United States has impoverished these countries to such an extent that they have practically no sound security to offer it is going to be a difficult task. It would have served the United States much better to have gained her riches by legitimate trade, and so keep her people employed, than gather in half the world's monetary gold through the misfortunes of other countries. It has been said by some of her politicians that the United States would consider a revision of the war debts if the European countries stopped the race for armaments, but according to figures published by the World's Peace Foundations the United States spent 707,425,000 dollars last year in this way, the largest sum of any nation, the Soviet Union coming next with an expenditure of 578,942,707 dollars, and France following with 460,980,000 dollars. No doubt the war debts will again attract a lot of attention after the Presidential elections next year, for it is for political reasons that those in charge of the administration refuse to approach the subject in a broadminded manner. These men realise how these war debts are crippling their own country, but there is an enormous voting power which believes that America won the war by men and money, and this section is quite ignorant of economic conditions except as they affect their own narrow circles.