The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-22
BY DAVID L LAWRENCE.

81 lSpecldl Despatch TO Inc Ref0fmer.)
H Copyright 1921.
II WASHINGTON, March 22.-If Calvin
Coolidge were Just an ordinary vice
Il president, his message to the Boston
Chamber of Commerce would have been
accepted here as the personal expression
of an individual opinion. But since he
sits at the cabinet table and listens to
the discussions by President Harding
and secretaries on matters of foreign
/ policy, the opinions of such a vice pres
H ident become as important as those Of
any member of the cabinet.
Mr. Coolidge attracted attention with
his message 10 the Boston Chamber OF
II Commerce because he is the first mem
Der of the Harding administration to
say publicly that the future OF Ameri-
can business Is interviewer with set
h tlement of international questions.
II Members of the cabinet have said more
i than that privately, but Mr.. Coolidge
says publicly: with the settlement Of
II international relations and the defining
of the German indemnity, we ought to-
/ reach a stabilized condition, which
should result in large business eXpan-
Il sion"
H The foregoing sentiment is hardly I'M
H line with the viewpolnJ expressed BY
t'!rrecoucilables" in congress, who have
insisted that America could get along
4 without Europe and that the United
States had no relationship to the iudem
nifty question. Indeed, a canvass of the
4 cabinet members of the Harding adj
ministration discloses the fact that
more of them lean toward the idea OF
reaching a prompt agreement with Eu-
| rope, with the present league OF nations
4 and treaty as Il basis, than toward the
"scrapping' of the whole league and
treaty.
Friends of the League.
During the campaign Mr.. Coolidge was
careful not to say anything that could
be construed as an absolute reputation
OF the League of Nations though, like
the others, he had much to say against
/ foreign and unnecessary obligations.
Generally speaking. he is regarded as
one of the friends of the treaty and more
favorable to the Elihu Root wing OF the
i Republican party than the BOrah-J ohm
son faction There are those who say
that when the treaty was before the
senate, Mr.. Coolidge favored its adop-
ton with the Lodge reservations.
The other friends of the treaty and
league in the cabinet include, OF course,
AIessrs. Hughes and Hoover, hut there
are others. 1t il not expected that
! members of the cabinet VIII express
opinions publicly on matters that mem
bcrs Of the cabinet will express opinions
privately or publicly on matters outside
al their departments, but Secretary
DENLY of the navy depart ment went 80
far recently, as to declare that Amer
lean cooperation with Europe was nee
II essary, even to the cancellation of war
Indebtedness.
Talks which the writer has had with
several members of the cabinet lead to
the conclusion that the sentiment for a
definite settlement of the exact amount
which America viii oblige the allies to
4 pav.to her il looming up as of much I'M
portance, almost as the question OF what
Germany should pay the Allies. Some
4 cabinet members say frankly, though OF
course they cannot be quoted publicly,
that as a"cold- blooded business propo-
sition." it would be better for America
to forgive the entire debt, while others
insist that the United states must IN
evitaby consent to retundIng OF the
1 debt in some way that VIII enable the
allied countries to get credit abroad and
thus stabilize international exchange.
Some cabinet members declare that II
America does not settle the debt cues
ton, the financial burdens viii continue
to weigh so heavily upon the European
peoples as to diminish their purchasing
power Even western senators are be-
4 ginning to realize that, after all is said
and done and the emergency tariff laws
4 have been enacted to prevent the inn
Y portation of European products that
Il compete with American goods, it will
| become necessary to do some thing to
! get foreign markets for the American
producer and that this can come only
through the equalization of interna-
tiOnal exchange.
Public Against Cancellation.
All sides seem to agree that public
opinion in America is not ready for a
cancellation of the allied debt and that
] it will be very difficult to get action in
congress on any proposal to discount the
debt The latest proposal. however,
that the United States cancel the debts
of every allied country except England,
while Great Britain cancels the debts
which are owed to her by the allied
countries, is being given consideration
informally. BY that scheme, England
would cancel about nine billions of dol
lars, which Is owed her, while United
States would cancel about five billions
of dollars owed by France, Belgium,
Italy and other countries. England
alone would pay her debt of about FIVE
billions to the United States Such sug-
gestions, however, cannot be said to
have reached the point where the gov
ernment's policy can be stated.
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