The Washington times., 1922-10-03
LAMONT THINKS
FOREIGN DEBTS
NONE TOO GOOD
Some Of Them UncoIIectibIe,
He Tells Bankers, and Must
Be Written Off.
BY LUTHER A. HUSTON,
tional News Service.

NEW YORK, Oct. 3.-America is
at the parting OF the ways and must
meet the responsibility that comes
with power or suffer loss of world
leadership, in the opinion Of Thomas 4
w. Lamont, partner in J. J. Morgan
and Company, whoes address fea-
tured the first general session of the
convention Of the American bankers
Association here today.
A cooperation not solely economic,
but based upon on sympathetic
understanding Of the problems and
aspirations of other nations, was
bespoken by Lamont
BY indirection. Lamont put forth
the belief that America must parti.
cipate more actively in counsels
where Europe's affairs are discussed
and it's problems settled.
LamOnts speech was. in effect the
address of welcome to the 10000
bankers assembled for the forty.
eighth annual convention of the
association. The subject OF his
speech was "the American banker e
responsibility today"
Reparation Secondary.
Lamont declared that the ques-
secondary to that of the larger
question Of inter-allied indebtedness.
The reparations question, he said,
has not been settled, but public
opinion on the other side has now
advanced to a state where. when
the reparations question comes up
again next November, it ought not
to be impossible to settle"
Regarding the Indebtedness OF
foreign nations, Lamont expressed
the frank belief that not all Of 1t
is ColleCtIble.
Let us, by investigation, deter.
mine what, IL any, Of these debts
are in any event uncollectible. and
so should be written off in order
TO quit fooling ourselves ne said.
Let us decide what others of
these debtors are good in part but
must be given ample time to pay
in-far longer. perhaps, than
twenty-five years. Emphatically let
us figure to see whether the pay
ment OF these debts (which inevit.
ably must mean a great increase
in our import and a heavy de-
crease in our export trade) is go.
ing to prove an asset or a liza
bility for American business.
There are several hurdles, Lamont
said. that we must leap in our race
for domestic prosperity. Among
these he discussed the question OF
low prices for farm products, the
problem Of capital and labor. and
the question of politics and business.
Small Changes Best.
Il think" he said, that the low
price hurdle is the easiest one to
jump. The farmers had high prices
in 1919 and 1920, but the aftermath
was a serious one for them. In the
long run they, like all of US, will
fare better on a moderate price
scale, with small fluctuations"
With regard 10 capital and labor,
Lamont asserted that bankers must
give every possible encouragement
to the legitimate aspirations of labor.
There are still traces of arrogance
among employers" he said. "as there
are manifest signs of arrogance in
labor. Yet the employer has far less
excuse for arrogance than the la.
borer. The high wages OF the war
and Of the years just after had not
unnaturally a somewhat spelling ef-
feet upon labor. They gave labor the
Ieellng tnat II must always snare IN
the prosperity. never in the adversely
of business. l deplore that feeling:
vet l beg to remind you here that
that feeling in labor. in so far as It
was directed to the Improvement Of
living conditions. TO the gaining OF
little leisure and of the time to
play and be happy, was wholly right
and to the advantage Of the COM
munity."
An attack upon tariff making
methods featured l.amont's discus
sion of politics and business.
Many of our people" he declared,
still fail to realize that the word
trade means, in the final analysis,
an exchange of goods or services
Many OF us still cling to the idea
that international trade, as the term
applies to America. means that we
can sell freely to all the markets of
the world, and, in turn. need buy
from them little or nothing. This
theory, which seems to be the basis
for much Of our tariff legislation.
will, If pursued. surely wreck a big
part of our foreign trade"
The biggest fight of the Conven-
ton Is scheduled for tomorrow, when
the question of legislation to prevent
the establishment of branch banks