Pueblo chieftain., 1921-02-13
SUGGESTION THAT
AMERICA CALL OFF
CONTINUED from Page one)

| Continued from Page One)
any all around cancellation. Great
Britain would only benefit by tho four
and n half billions she owes us. and
would loso to the extent of all the AL
lies owe her. This is of course sub
ject to much qualification. For OK
ample, the debts due to Great Britain
are in the form of deprecated cur
| rencies. Just what the net result of
cancellation ALL around would be it is
not possible TO say with accuracy with
out more minute figuring than Is here
possible. For example. Great Britain's
loans to Russia were over two and n
half billion dollars. while our loans to
Russia were less than one sixth as
much. about 100000. Obviously
the debt that Russia owes to Great
Britain is pretty nearly n total loss al
ready; for Great Britain to cancel that
debt of two and a half billion dollars
would be merely a gesture. Great
Britain would be cancellinS a Russian
| debt which is largely a total loss al
ready while she would be the beno-
ficiary Of our cancellation of the per-
fectly good debt she owes us. The
accounts among the Allies are full OF
such intricacies as this and only an
expert accountant could tell just what
the net result would be If we should
cancel our loans and then Great Brit
ain should cancel hers. But there
So far as cash is concerned. Great
Britain would stand to win little or
nothing by our cancellation of tho
debt she owes us II she in turn should
cancel all that is owed her. Undoubt-
cdly, n mutual cancellation of these
edly. "A mutual of cancellation of these
debts all around would have certain
complex results affecting foreign trade
and exchange. Since Great Britain is
so much moro expert in this limo than
we are, it can be taken for granted
that she forsces these results and
would manage to profit by them. But
Mr.. Austen Chamberlain. when he
made that speech, was not voicinE ir-
ritation because we have refused TO
cancel the loans. Neither was he
bringing pressure to bear on us to
cancel them now. Undoubtedly, what
he was doing was TO serve notice on
the other Allies that inasmuch as
America will not cancel tho loans she
made Great Britain will bo unable to
cancel the loans she made, and there
fore France and Italy and the others
must pay. Mr.. Chamberlaid's speech
was merely a diplomatic way of call
ing tho attention of Franco and the
other European Allies to an overdue
account Also. Great Britain gets
credit for Willingness to cancel. while
we get odium of preventing it
OF course 1t is true that while Great
Britain's financial interest in our can
ceiling OF the loans is comparatively
small. there are other reasons, and
good reasons from her point of view,
why she should want us to do It. 1t
would save her tho Inconvenience OF
compelling the other allies to pay and.
in other respects, especially as regards
her foreign trade would be desirable
| from the British point of view. Nr
Chamberlain's revelation that Great
Britain has already approached US
I -, 10. n, ,<..s N,a-ht ~.
prise. In the informal ways OF friend
\ ly conversation. many British states
men. British editors and British lead
| crs OF thought have made this suggcs-
| tion to American public men and jour
nalists. II has been made to tho writer
| of this article on more than one occa-
sion. Ono suggestion once made in
my hearing was that Great Britain
| might tako tho Initiative by first can
| ceiling all tho loans owed to her, and
| thus put IL up to us to cancel. But
| Mr.. Chambcrlain's action would seem
| to Indicate that Great Britain does not
| now place any such high estimate on
our Willingness to enter a competition
| in altruism.
Any ono familiar with Congress and
| familiar with American public scnti-
ment knows how little is the likelihood
OF our canceiling the debts owed to us
| by our late Allies. Almost any Amer
| lean public man in responsible posi-
ton would hc deferred from making
such n suggestion by tho fear of being
laughed at. Any proposal to cancel
these loans would ho regarded as IA
cilitating Great Britain in her present
| maintenance OF troops in Ireland. and
as facilitating Franco in what America
generally regards as n dcplorable pol
icy of maintaining n largo standing
army.
The daily dispatches. which picture
tho acts OF the British army in Ireland
make impossible any act on Americas
part in the direction OF making II car
icr for Great Britain to keep UP the
expense of that army. As / said in
the beginning. tho whole thing makes
little difference finally to Great Britain.
but American public opinion In its
present state would take the form OF
disapproval nevertheless, Great Brit
ain little knows what n strong senti-
ment adverse to her Is being built up
up by tho daily cables that describe
what is going on in Ireland. In tho
same way. American public opinion
would take the form disapproval Of
the continued size OF Frances military
establishment Especially would
American public opinion take tho form
of disapproval of certain ASPECTS at
tending Frances maintenance OF black
troops from Africa in German terri
tory. Some of the aspects OF this
French occupation OF Germany. r1imor5