Evening star., 1921-03-07
Editorial Digest
Paying Belgium's Debt.

Paying Belgiums Debt.
The majority Of American news
papers are not in favor OF allowing
Belgium to pay her debts to the
| United States with German bonds
This opinion is not unsympatheticaIly
expressed-some writer's even think
we are under such obligation to Bel
| gium for her conduct in the war
that we should deal with her on her
own terms. But for the most part
it is felt that acceptance of German
paper from any debtor country might
create precedent which might
Aventually place the responsibility OF
enforcing German payments from
allies shoulders to Uncle Sans.
ut is a most satisfactory scheme
! remarks the Durham IN. c. Sun
| (lndependenO. and then ironically
adds, for Europe" The Sun ex-
! plains its position by stating that
| though ''the Belgian debt is small In
comparison with the vast amounts
| America to accept German bonds for
| the Belgian debt. she would be
pressed to do the same for the French,
the British anu the Italian debt"
An even more emphatic expressio on
comes from the Sioux City Uowa)
Journal trepublican). whi CHI ID eclares:
/ 1T is not the business OF the United
States to collect any part of the Ger
man indemnity The United States
has nothing coming from Germany IN
the way of indemnity. Let the Eu-
| ropean nations do their own collect
ing. While they are exacting their
last pound of flesh from Germany it
would be becoming of them II they
, were to announce that their obliGa-
tions to the United States would be
last penny, at the earliest possible
moment"
OF course everybody wants to help
Belgium. says the Manchester Uni ion
independent republican,. rejecting
an attitude that even the critics OF
the plan seem to take for granted.
and, it continues, I'VE would not want
to minimize the sufferings of the
heroic little country, but it is only
true to say that there has been a
great deal of exaegeration with re-
spect to the actual damage done to
Belgium's productive equipment. On
the other hand. Belgium has capi-
| talized her sufferings." But the ques-
ton is deeper than this: 1t goes
straight down to the basic purpose
burdens on the Germans.
feels that the proposition has very
little that will commend itself to the
fnanciers or statesmen of the coun-
try" The Times regards the sugges-
ton as "the thin edge of the wedge
that some allied fnanciers long have
been striving to drive between the
United States Treasury and the ooil-
cations they owe It. r..
The Fort Worth Star-Teiegram On.
dependent democratic) finds no great I
objection to the plan itself. but would
| withhold approval until the German
reparations question is settieo upon
such. a basis as to insure that Ger
many will pay" for
Germany should be beyond Germany
ability to pay. if the economic impos-
abilities proposed at the recent al
lied conference should be lnsiste
upon. then even the bonds providen
for in this agreement in connection
with the Belgian debt would be of
very questionable value"
The case of Belgium alone mleht
not he difficult to handle. the PITTS
! burgh Gazette-Ttmes repubiican1 19id D
mean the initial movement in trans
ferring to Uncle Sam the greater part
| Of the foreign indebt tedness. Thus.
though Americans will go far to
help Belgium. for whom their SYN sym
Guides, pnrh sti1ey are also reasonably con-
cerned for their own welfare.
! The Cleveland Plain Dealer inde-
pendent democratic) looks upon tne
question much more sympAneticaIy'
heal advantage Of a scheme which
would enable this nation to collect
promptly an obligation which other
wise Belgium is likely to fnd ex-
tremsly difiieuit to rns meet p,ain Tinih Dealer
points out. however. that the United
States should make clear that It's
iacceptance of German bonds Is not to
be construed as precedent justfytng g
the acceptance later s,.sin OF IKE d.h,oor oonds
| The Springfield Union (republican)
remarks that lit would establish no
precedent that could affect the obli-
cations of other allied governments
| to us, because this provision was a
special one on account of the German
violation of Belgian neutrality.
The Philadelphia Record (indepen :
ent democratic) states natiy that
there is no analogy between the cas-
of Great Britain, France and taly'
at home during the whole war. col
iecting taxes and selling bonds" II the
| Harding administration. it concludes.
| ...hould be less liberal to Belgium"
! than the Wilson regime was its
| THE Lynchburg News is thoroughly
! in favor Of taking German securities
rather than gold" from Belgium,
urging that surely the time is not
at hand when, with absolute finality,
| it may be said that Germany.s promises
(. 10 nav should be regarded as alto
retSer uncoIlectable"; indeed, in the
Opinion OF the News, even if the pa
per was worthless, the United States
| could remit outright the entire Bel
gian debt-aye, ten times that debt
and vet remain debtor to the high
snm,ed government and the people of
| that loyal little kingdom"