America and War Debts

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7063, 24 January 1933, Page 7

America and War Debts

« **’ Will She Inflate Currency ?

JBIG FIGHT BETWEEN EAST AND WEST .United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph —Copyright Received Monday, 9 p.m. ' WASHINGTON, Jan. 22. There are no further developments in connection with the debts situation following the Hoover-Roosovelt conference. Semi-official speculation is now centred on what proposition Mr. Roosevelt is likely to advance and what Congressional reaction thereto would, be. The principlo of a lump sum payment or some sort of short-term agreement wipiug out the existing 62-year agreement is generally favoured in financial and diplomatic circles. There is a great desire that Britain should "return to the gold standard or otherwise stabilise the currency, while Senator Borah indicated that he would insist on disarmament before agreeing to support a settlement.

Meanwhile the domestic affairs before Congress are attracting much attention. Although the long filibuster against the Glass Banking Bill has been broken by a compromise elimination of the branch banking clause, the debate is still continuing, holding up other legislation. To-day Senator Borah insisted that the Budget could not be balanced without “ reflation, ’’ indicating a protracted fight between the eastern and western sections over inflation. Many westerners are favouring the remonetisation of silver and other means to raise commodity prices, while the easterners generally are defending the gold standard.

Ready to Talk

SATISFACTION IN BRITAIN British Official Wiroless RUGBY, Jan. 21. The announcement from Washington of the willingness of the incoming Administration, when it takes over in March, to confer with British representatives on war debts and to discuss world economic problems in which tho two countries are mutually interested is generally welcomed in Britain. The

British Government has made no move :6 in the matter since it paid to America, when tho debt instalment camo due on December 15, the sum of 95,000,000 dollars in gold. It then required £29,500,00 to discharge this gold obligation of £19,633,976. Tho American move is in effect a sequel to tho Tequest contained in the British Note of November 10 for a review of the “regime of intergovernmental obligations.'*

Debts Must be Settled BEFORE .WORLD PROBLEM RUGBY, Jan. 21. Beyond a general expression of satisfaction at the prospect of the progress promised by the Washington announcement, no official comment is as yet available in London. In the Press the Times welcomes the consultation and co-operation foreshadowed and emphasises the need for a clear understanding of the realities of the situation. It says, “one of those realities is that, anxious as Britain has been and is to fulfil all her obligations, America has made it impossible for her to go on making war debt payments by refusing to accept goods and services by which alone payment is possible. Unless America is prepared to recast her wihole economic policy so as to enable her debtors to pay what they owe, the only alternatives are a settlement on Lausanne model or frank cessation of payments. “The second reality is that since the next payment is due on .Tune 15 and since these war debts obligations, so long as they are maintained, constitute in themselves an inseparable barrier to economic recovery, it is a matter of urgency that they should be out of the way before the World Conference meets and that it would bo a grave mistake to make a solution of this problem dependent on prior or simultaneous solution of any of the many complicated questions with which the Conference will havo to deal.”

The News-Chronicle says that the announcement “represents a very great advance on any former position taken up by America.”