Republican farmer., 1919-01-31
PROBLEMS OF A CREDITOR NATION

FORGE E. ROBERTS, who has the title assistant to the S president The National City Bank of New York, deliv cred address before the Investment Bankers Association America under the dsignaton "A Creditor Country The ad dress reproduced and laid upon the desk of The Times Farmer The contents calculated to make old fashion ed high tariff like the late E. H turn in his But the truth of the things stated within purview of the least informed upon economic matters. Mr. Roberts is banker who has escaped from the thradom of conventional finance has grasped the rudmens of the mic and financial changes made by Americas state of being a creditor nation.
 Through loans that have been made to fore naons or that will be made the United States has interest char ed against Europe of approximately $00OoOoo Says MT. Roberts,
 Now with that these interest charges will
 9 ~ors s f @ etsS sa s total @ ns S 5 % p @
 if these able to rsinquish
 adding reserve, would
 here above those would
 ins,sn: the
 ford @ to take their gold s with & such results ~ u mi it's pay in gold There gold enough if there gold enough would be necessary refuse it, because too much of that particular commodity in place. would make the gold cheap.
 for the present Europe is in need and goods must flow from the United States to European countries For the present and for time to Europe will not be in position to send goods to this country So MT Roberts.
 Which means reasoning of The Times-F Farmer that the trade balance in favor of the United Staes must be much interest payments from Europe must be much larger.
 If America is 10 be pad and cannot take gold, America must take goods
 Mir. Roberts proposes alternative. This country will take neither goods gold It will charge with Europe It will put its principal into the European tries and the interest there also.
 The United States and American investors would invest in European enterprise This then Mr Roberts posa to meet present conditions Again The Times Farmer reasons
 But the remedy would not in the end the original necessity Repayment could not in gold it would to goods and these goods would represent of European imports American exports, Thus would the United States 10 condition exports would be enormously greater than s imports the dlon which economists of the Hill type always horren for the effect of high tariff and it's very purpose to keep European goods out of the United States.
 The consequence of being creditor nation is pean goods cannot be kept out unless the debt forgiven
 Europe must pay in goods not at all. The longer payments delayed and the greater the charge European goods will be required to settle the account
 There nothing mysterious about trade It operates much like individual trade in the factors The creditor gets the other fellows goods long last or until the debt S forgiven.
 It will be interesting little later when of ed fashioned high tariff orators begin necessities of Uncle Sam international creditor with tenets they for mery hed when they begin to explain the consequences that must follow influx of European shipped to the United States decade after decade dividend and inter- est payments due American investors European industries