Evening star., 1920-02-08

n all the discussions OF the rehsi-
bilitation of Europe. which are
coming from the other side of the
ocean now. there is an unms-
taxable concentration Of attention
! upon the financial aspect. and an
equally patent suggestion that tn.
easiest. perhaps the only solution Of
the European difficulty. far rs
it has u solution. outside "f time
and WORK. viii h. found IN the
forgiveness by the United States of
III" $4,000. .o"o. 900 loaned hy us to our
European associates in the war and
future. Thus NJ. Ribot. one of the
most eminent of French finance min
listers. early in the conference pro-
posed that there should be general
pooling of all the debts of the allied
4, and associated powers. The result of
such a reapportionment would obvi-
! ously have been to reduce the French
debt very greatly.
! Maynard Keynes. one of the Brit
; iSh financial representatives at Paris.
who left the conference because OF his
disapproval Of the economic terms.
| has embodied his views in book.
which has excited much comment on
both sides of the Atlantic.
keynes View of Debt.
! Mr.. Keynes thesis is that the
| United States should consent to can
eel the $4,000, 900. 900 which it loaned
! to the nations associated with it in
| the recent struggle. Mr.. Keynes points
out that Europe owes the United
| States $4,000. 100000, that this sum
| represents our loans to our associ-
| ates, but that Great Britain has also
| loaned $8.7O0. .000.0 600. and France a
| little short Of $4,000. 900. 900. Great
Britain owes us outright 200.000.-
| 000 The effect Of our canceling our
| loans would be to enable Britain to
| cancel hers. To be sure what she
owes US is only half Of what Europe
| owes her. but Mr. Keynes correctly
points out that since the larger share
Of the British loans are to Russia,
| Italy and the smaller states. whose
/ finances are difficult. no wise financier
would estimate the present or even
the future value of the British loans
at more than so per cent.
Accordingly. Britain would, by our
. forgiveness and hers. acQuiesce in a
mere bookkeeping transaction. She
would actually stand where she did
before the two operations. neither
richer nor poorer. France. by con-
| IL dSt. "oulo edli So.cVV.VVVVVV
| round figures. as result Of the can
collation. by the United States and by
| Britain Of the loans made to her and
| by her of Italian Indebtedness. Italy
| would gain $4,000.000.000. Belgium
rather less than ;l.ooo.ooo. 900. the
| be trifiing.
Two things would be accomplished
by this transaction, the financial
| problems of the French and the Ital-
| ians would be enormously lightened.
and the possibility of quarrels be-
! tween the European nations which
| fought Germany. growing out of the
| hopeless intermixture Of debts, would
| be abolished. Otherwise. resentment
by the French at their obligations to
Britain. of Italy over her debt to
| France and Britain. of all Europe over
their debts to the United States seems
to Mr.. Keynes inevitable.
Say 1t Was U. s.'i War. Too.
| The European reasons are two
fold. First of all the world war to
the European mind was always our
| war.
! And now. when Europe has borne
| the greater share of the burden and
nnds itself at once victorious and
! approximately bankrupt. it sees the
United States by contrast both pros
! porous and in position to demand
the payment of interest and principal
| on vast debt, which represents the
expenditures of our European asso-
| was American quite as much as Eu-
| ropean. Europe is able to find not a
little support for this view in the
statements made by Americans in
Europe last year.
I am very anxious to make this
point clear to my readers. If Europe
| has been led to such propositions as
| those of Mr.. Keynes and NJ Ribot, the
reason Is to be found in the way
Americans representing the United
States in official capacity talked in
Europe during the peace conference.
The more 1 compare the European
view of American relation to the war
with the view l find held generally
in this country and more I am led
to believe that the real misunder-
the mass of the American people un-
derstood that they had gone into the
war to defeat Germany and the mass
of the European people, like their
leaders. have been persuaded by
American public men, by the Presi-
dent. before all others, that our en-
trance into the war was the ulti-
mate evidence of a purpose to share
henceforth in the regulation of world
affairs. that the war was not a pro-
tective investment as necessary ex-
penditure to preserve our own safety,
but an actual and deliberate mis-
sion ito make the world safe for
democracy" if one please.
Got Idea From President.
At the root of most of the criticism
which one now hears of the United
States in Europe lies the idea that
we have gone back upon moral and
material obligations. which were ex-
pressed in the language of Mr.. Will
son at Paris, in the attitude we
adopted throughout the Paris confer
ence.
Here in Washington. largely
throughout the country, I find the
general opinion to be that in the
world war the United States saved
France and Great Britain by mill
tary interposition and then and
thereafter saved Europe, by the
enormous contributions of food and
money That there is any further
positive obligation. that we owe Eu-
rope the 81 9. 900, O0O. 900 because of what
Europe did for us. that we have been
the beneficiaries of the sufferings
and sacrifices of others. this notion
does not to any extent prevail in the
United States.
AS it is, Europe sees the United