The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-03-04

than almost any other of the European
countries that owe us money
Italy reduced her army drastically
and promptly Italy's army is now al
most as small as our own. She has
also reduced her navy to reasonable
minimum In other ways, Italy has
made good faith efforts and has
achieved definite progress toward get
ting back to sound practices in gov
eminent finance.
AS to some of the smaller countries
| that are our debtors. they will have
| various stories to tell. and various
| suggestions to make. Some of them
are pretty hopeless. Some of them
I. don't even seem to have the ambition
or the intention to do the right thing
with regard to their debts and with
/ regard to their government finance
| generally.
I On the other hand, am told that
one or two of these little countries
/ are ready to make surprising and most
| agreeable proposals looking to ar
rangements for hquidating the debts
| they owe us.
/ After all these negotiations are over,
! after our debt commission has con.
/ cluded the conversations with all our
debtors, what then? Our debt com
mission cannot cancel, cannot reduce
and cannot compromise. They have
not the authority. Congress refused
to give it to them. Our debt commits
| sion has almost no latitude or choice
One Discretion
/ The only discretion congress gave tc
the debt commission was limited to
refunding the debts so as to spread
the payments over period of not
over % years, and to fixing the inter
est at rate of not less than Az pei
| cent. Outside these conditions, the
| debt commission has no latitude anC
no authority.
Now, know of no person competent
to judge who believe that all oul
debtors can pay their entire debts
with interest within so short a period
as 25 years. Some of them can bu
most of them cannot.
Under this state of facts, what car
our debt commission do? They can
take the ordinary measures for collect
ing overdue debts. They can't sen(
the sheriff to seize the government
buildings in Warsaw, or to replevir
the royal jewels Of Roumania. The,
/ can't attach the salary of the presi
dent of Lithuania. They can't levy OIL
the second hand crown which vii
F helm forgot to put in his grip when h,
left for Holland in hurry
Things They Could Do.
Il There are other things, serious
things, legitimate things, and thing
! agreeable to our creditors, which GU
debt commission could do if it had tn
authority. Secretary Mellon has 10
of experience as a banker involved
, with loans to corporations not able t,
pay at the moment.
, Probably no man in America ha
! shown himself more successfully in
: genious in working out ways of say
: ing both the debtor and the credito
in such situations as this. But MI
;, Mellon is prevented from using sucI
> devices as his ingenuity and exper
ence might suggest for such a situs
ton as this.
Mr.. Mellon is forbidden by congress
. to- accept the notes of one nation a
security for the debt of another, O
y any similar Encouragement He i
things through which as resourcefu
, banker as Mr.. Mellon is might b
4 able to work OUT this whole stu;
ton. He is held down to the di.
erection of a mere bank messenge
!. who can only present the draft and d,
9 mand payment of the principal in nc
;, prevented from doing any of man
a less than 25 years, with interest E
not less than Az per cent.
= Under the circumstances. all th