Evening star., 1921-12-25

ture sense of responsibility? he
asked. apparently amused that fool
ish Americans should have been mis-
led into such a wrong conception OF
the facts.
Let me tell YOU the short story of
the one superb, incompatible piece
of governmental finance which has
come to light during all these recent
years, when the governments of near
ly all the world have been trying by
new methods and by old to meet BIZ
zarre, fantastic, dreadful financial sit
uations. 1t is MeXico's.
Mexico has developed and has
benefited by financial genius such as
is not on the records for any other
country on the surface of the earth
during recent years. She has gone
any country in the world. She has
had famine, pestilence, stagnation
and destruction to combat with.
Through these disasters she resorted
to a paper currency which became all
but worthless. Where is her currency
now? Almost at par, for it is gold and
only gold, Accomplished in a year.
While even the British pound has been
down. Show me record which is COM
parable with this.
IS A ND has this been brought about
through the assistance of Amer
ica or anybody else? 1t has not No
one has helped Mexico She has done
this wonder by herself Mexican
money fiuctuates but little. 1t is
practically as stable as our own.
''Everything considered, Mexico is
paying off her debts with an amazing
speed. although she is naturally criti-
cised for not paying off the coupons
on her external bonds. Let us ex-
anime, very briefly, the whole situa-
ton.
1T is true that her bond interest
has been in default since 1914. She
was not in the world war. but on ac-
count of internal disturbances and the
position of neutrality which she sought
to maintain she suffered dire conse-
quences from, it, unlike some other
neutrals.
There, again. was tragic evidence
of our American neglect of leader
ship which was easily within our
grasp. We had let it go to the Ger
mans. In Mexico, while the war
waged overseas. there was always a
powerful, alert German group ready
for action at any time. Mexico was
continually threatened by this group
and the American government Off
cialS were aware of it. For some
strange reason there was not the
slightest invocation of the Monroe
doctrine in this matter. although it
might well have been justified. The
present administration in Mexico is
just year old. 1t has been a strange
year the world over, especially in
financial matters AS it has dragged
it's unique length along, Europe has
issued paper money by the ton.
1.-The Mexicans already had been at
it. The present administration, the
government of Obregon. inherited over
$3.50, ,O00, 900 of almost worthless scrip
from the government which went be-
fore 1t will seem like fairy tale or
worse when l tell you that the gov
ernments of Europe. old and trained
and thought to be the cleverest on
earth, might well turn to Mexico to
study her procedure in this matter
Those $50 millions of deprecated
scrip today have been redeemed and
utterly destroyed. And Mexico is on
gold basis.
Probably not one per cent of all
the people who should know, in all
the outside world. have heard of this
unparalleled achievement.
Toward the last days of the Car
rama administration paper money had
been issued in literally carload lots,
which were added to other carload
lots already issued by him and by
others. The retirement of this vast
amount of paper money while the
balance of the world was keeping
every printing press that it could
seize at work in printing more was
one of the great financial achieve
ments Of the human race. 1t was
done very quietly and with the impo-