Evening star., 1920-02-08
UNCLE SAM IST1ROUGH
PAYING EUROPE'S BILLS
Overseas People Must Go to Work, Levy
Taxes and Get Down to
Business Basis.

is constantly increasing. Her cur
rency has increased from $500. 600. 900
francs prior to the war to 100000
1000, 900 authorized and $4,000, 100000
lin actual use, and little progress has
been made in bonding her currency
or her floating debt. A similar con-
dition obtains in Italy.
These countries, leaders in Congress
and in the financial world point out,
must resort to drastic taxation; they
have got to work, and to save. Hard
work and rigid economy only will
bring them back to a position of
prosperity.
United States Has Job Here Mt Home.
Charity begins at home" and
Uncle Sam with the most charitable
Intentions realizes that he must safe
guard his own 120,000,000 nephews
and nieces from a financial panic
The United States has a funded
debt, on account of the war, amount
ing in round numbers to $21,oo0.ooo,-
900. 1t has a floating debt of over
$1,000. 100000 represented by interest
bearing certificates in the banks run
ming for short periods and continually
being renewed. The banks now have
hard work to serve the commercial
interests OF this country without de-
pleting their resources to aid the gov
ernment in making further loans to
Europe. They are now loaded to the
gunwales with government obliga-
tions.
| The Treasury officials advised the
Congress leaders that it would be inn
possible to float another loan under
6 per cent. The people are selling
their persent holdings of bonds at the
rate Of $15,ooo,ooo to $3o.ooo,ooo per
day in Wall street to get funds to
invest, mostly in wild cat" and high
ly speculative or worthless stocks.
| Much has been said about the
United States stabilizing exchange.
No one nation can stabilize exchange;
it depreciates as between the various
nations. All we could do would be to
give an advantage on nations cur
rency here, and then it would depre-
ciate again as soon as We passed it
along. It's like the old bulldog" cur
rency of the states that deprecated
when it passed the state borders.
Must Stabilize Exchange.
The best thing that this govern
ment can do to stabilize exchange is
to hold fast to the gold basis and
make good on all its currency. having
a safe and secure circulation. Then
the other nations will have this coun-r
/ ttryAs q guids and model in struggling
back to q gold standard.
That's why the financial students.
the hard-headed fnanciers. in Con-
gress are playing safe. They are go
| ing to ward on a financial panic in
this country that might easily be pre-
cipitated-and they are going to set
up a beacon light of hope for the
other nations now houndering around
in financial gloom.
And don't think your Uncle Sam is
turning a cold shoulder to friends
who would help out in an emergency.
than A. Barton Hepburn. chairman of
the advisory board on the Chase Ma
tional Bank. recalls that:
Very early in the civil war (1861-2)
gold went to premium. During the
period Of Union army reverses the
premium was SO high that the United
States note (greenback) was worth
only 40 cents in gold to the dollar.
Exchange was very much against this
country, but we heard nothing about
equalizing exchange on the part of
European nations. They were quite
content with the situation"
/ Through that advantage they got
then, England, France and Germany
became creditor nations. with the
United States a debtor nation until
the world war came on. In 1915 and
l1916 we got back our stocks and
bonds because they needed the money.
The world expects Uncle Sam to be
most benevolent in his view Of every
business transaction, but the world
is not always so benevolent toward
Uncle Sam.