Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1932. WAR PAYMENTS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 16 January 1932, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1932. WAR PAYMENTS.

The London Conference of Nations, called by the British Government in July to consider the economic position which brought forth the Hoover moratorium, declared that the measures it recommended for quick alleviation were of a preparatory character. Those which followed and supported the Hoover moratorium of a year were an extension of the rediscount credit granted to the Reichsbanlc, and a “stand still” agreement, recommended by the Basle Banking Committee, postponing till the end of January the short term commercial debts due by Germany. These commercial debts were subsequently found to be not £400,000,000, the sum named to the Basle committee, but £600,000,000, and it was following upon this disclosure that Germany applied for a special advisory committee by the Bank for International Settlements, as provided in the Young Plan, to make full inquiry into the German economic and financial situation. The committee has now made a report expressing its opinion that Germany will be unable to resume payment of the Young Plan conditional annuities, amounting next year to five-eighths of the total payments, and in subsequent years by a greater proportion. It is not a German problem exclusively, the committee points out, but must be treated as a world problem, a crisis of tremendous dimensions. For years the cancelling of both reparations and war debts has been advocated. The British Government took the initiative in 1920 and, not meeting with the slightest encouragement, it made the declaration contained in the Balfour Note of 1922 of not taking more war debt payments from its Allies and reparation payments than would suffice to pay the debts which it owed to foreign Governments. Since that Note was published the feeling in favour of great modifications in, if not total cancellation of, the already amended war debts and reparations has grown, but not sufficiently to become effective. France and the United States receive by far the greater part of the ultimate payments on account of war debts and reparations. The problem of cancellation is by no means simple. It is one thing to persuade a select few people in each country who by their complete knowledge of affairs know the results of the payments. It is quite another matter to persuade the mass of the voters that modification or cancellation ought to take place because it will be to the ultimate benefit not only of the world as a whole but to the ultimate benefit of each particular country. Cancellation of war debts means cancellation as between one country and another. It does not mean the wiping out of the debt as between the citizens who lent the money and their Government which borrowed it.