Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1922-04-29
AMERICA READY TO
MAKE COLLECTIONS
1T Is BELIEVED ENGLAND CAN
PAY lNSTALLMENT ON &C
COUNT OF INTEREST
czecho-s May Remit Some,
But France and Some Others
Are Not in Position to do
Anything Now

Washington. The commission
whose function 1t is to collect the
S11,000,000,0O0 owed to the United
States by various European nations
has organized. The next step, neees-
sarily. will be for this commission to
give formal notification to the Eur
opean debtor governments of the COM
missions duties in the collection OF
these debts or in the making of ar
rangements for their collection, and
then to await such responses as the
nations may decide to make. 1t is
easy for any well-ihformed person to
guess approximately what these re-
sponses will be.
Great Britain will probably pay
considerable sum on account OF the
accrued interest and express willing
moss to accept any terms that tho
United States may suggest about fu-
tire installments. Aside from Great
Britain, ii is difficult to think of any
of the other natoins that Is likely
to make any payments on account.
1t is just possible that the CZeeho-
Sloyak government may be prepared
10 do something in small way. This
government is about the only one of
the various new nations set up by the
Paris conference tnat has conducted
its fiscal aifa1s in such way IS
To qualify us a solvent debtor. As
resule of Czecho-Slovak economy and
the sound management of its finances
Il has recently been able to borrow
several million dollars from private
bankers in America and Great Britain.
After the debt refunding commits
sion has received it's various answers,
the next step, logically, will be a re-
port by the commission to congress.
That report may turn out to be dis
APPOINTING to congress and the. country.
So far us the country expects all OF
these debts to be refunded on nor
nal basis ut normal rate of interest
md with installments beginning i'm
mediately, the country is likely to be
disappointed.
Beyond these three steps it is diff
cult to see farther into the future. BY
the time all this has taken place GER
tain other angles of the European
situation will be clearer than they
are now. If those of the European
nations which have debased their cur
rency should decide as result of
the Genoa conference to Stabilize their
currency and otherwise bring their
fiscal affairs to sound basis, there
is likely to be request by some of
them for an advance of part of
the United States gold to serve MS Il
basis for their new currency.
At this point it is going to be me-
cessary for America to practice n good
deal OF wisdom. If any of those Eur
opean countries show an honest dis
position to stop spending more than
their income and to stop printing pa
per money, then it would be a wise
and statesmanlike thing for America
to lend them some American gold I'M
der proper restrictions.
Just why it is disadvantageous for
America to have such disproportion-
ately large share of the worlds gold
supply and why it would be advan.
taeous for America to devote some OF
it to enabling other countries to sta
biize their currency is more com
pick aspect of economics than is com
monty understood. Incidentally, one
of the countries that owes money to
the United States is Russia. Russia
owes some hundreds of millions TO
the United States government and al
50 owes some hundreds of millions to
American bankers.
At the Genoa conference Russia has
developed the theory that against
these debts she has setof in the
shape of damage done by American
troops in Russia. That setof can
hardly be admitted. American troops
were in Russia chiefly for the legi-
innate purpose of protecting sup
plies sent by America to Russia at the
request of the preceding Russian gov
eminent. Moreover. there is all the
difference in the world between Rus.
sia's obligation and promise to re-
pay a loan made by America and any
possible libilty America may be under
for damages.