The Washington herald., 1921-08-21
Prompt and Businesslike
Arrangement Is to
Her Advantage.
EXCHANGE FACTOR
Britain's Only Desire Is to
Avoid Gripping Terms,
He Says.
ARTHUR w. kIDDT.

ect and the readiness with when
wo friendly nations seem prone to
nIsunderstand each other with re-
gard to the matter, one hesitates
good deal about writing on the
ubject of the Indebtedness of Great
sritain. to the United States. Never
:heless, and as a very Iong-standins
correspondent of The Washington
Herald and the Evening Post, pro-
pose to say a few plain words on
he matter. know that they VIII
% accepted in the spirit in which
.hey are written, and even more, L
yenture to think that the palmer
he facts are stated the more read
ly will they be accepted by the
American business man.
20 Desire to Transfer obligations.
You will observe that have usec
The expression the Indebtedness OF
srsat Britain to the United States
md have not coupled it with the
indebtedness of other European
sountries to America. j have done
his for two reasons In the hrst
elaee. In a purely business matter
81 this kind our prime consldera-
lion should be. and indeed Is, the
,Iuple recognition OF our own dept
n YOUR country and the manner IN
which IL is TO be discharged. leaving
rou and the other European coun-
triss to consider the means to DC
r1ployed for discharging similar
Indebtedness. Moreover, I prefer
70 keep to the simple question OF
sur indebtedness to you for another
reason, namely. that I discern In
nj the cable advices and the com
n.nts IN the American press
,.ndency, when once these debts arc
,,.L.r ~ In collective fashion. to
lump to the conclusion that Great
Britain and France are desirous OF
engineering some kind OF quadrah-
rular deal which is going TO emu
either in America being foisted OFT
with German bonds as a KIND or
settlement for all the allied deots
sr else by some other kind of in
/ .ernational juggling whereby an IN
transitional bond serves the purpose
% a general settlements.
Before dealing straightly, now
,yer, with the question or our own,
debt to you, must make a refer
sncs in passing to the question OF,
The Indebtedness OF France and the
nther allies to us, not because II Is
a question which has really any
material connection with the due
discharge of our debt to you, but
becc-sea the two thoughts naturally
como together in our own minds
tbo-gh unfortunately the coupling
% the Ideas so frequently occasion,
America to think that by a kind
81 supreme artfNlasss we have con-
reIyed the idea OF taking France
and other debtors to our bosoms IN
an outburst of financial generosity
with the hope that America VIII
ne so touched by the spectacle as
to act in a similar manner to our
selves, or perchance to go one bet
Ter (as is customary IN our coun-
tryo and issue a kind of general
financial pardon to all the coun-
tries Of Europe.
IRRESPONSIBLE SuEgestiOns.
Al a matter of fact, what act
ually happened on this side of the
Atlantic is this. From time to time
Il Is strongly urged from various
uuarters-and usually from quite
reasonable quarters-that We should
exercise financial clemency towards
our allies and that such clemency.
while primarily in their own in
terests, may also be in the inter-
ests of Europe as whole as
tending to restore greater stability
lnr the exchanges, and incidentally,
perhaps to aid good feeling be-
tween, nations which you must re-
member are very near neiGhbors in
Europe and which ave all suffered
in recent years a very common but
very severe adversely. No sooner.
however, are these suggestions
made-and 1 should add that they
are meyer put forward by response
BILE quazters without due recognition
that an essential condition of such
|cIemency should be certain flnan-
cial reforms to be effected within
1.-The countries concerned-than i'm
mediately we get an outpouring
from some quite responsible quar-
tiers that the course suggested is
quite unthinkable IL America does
not perform . similar action to
these other countries of Europe,
and even to Great Britain itself.
these suggestions are made by
people of no standing, but they are
constantly cabled to our side, and
American business men must be al
ternately affronted and amused by
the manner in which at one mo-
ment American sentiment is ap-
pealed to and at another the in
genious device Is resorted to of
demonstrating to Washington the
enormous trade advantages which
would accrue to the country II only
1T forgave Europe its few thou
sands of millions of Indebtedness.
As have already said, ! have
made this reference to the larger
uuestion Of international indebted
hess simply by way. of explaining
the manner in which they have SO
frequently given rise to misunder-
standings on your side. but I want
bow to deal simply and directly
with London's attitude toward our
hebt to America At the outset,
Jet me refer. however to one other
point. where our attitude is also,
think, q little unfairly misrepre-
eented In your country 1t Is q
point on which any one really IA
niliaf with the customs of the two
Countries will at once see how the
faisapprehensiop arises. Your Con-
ress has been greatly concerned
hat the question of the terms for
ettpng and funding the indebted
pess cf Great Britain to the United
tates SHOULD not be left to the dis
retisN OF your Secretary of the
Treasury or, as we say, to our