Evening journal., 1922-06-15
Uncle Ted's Bedtime Stories
Tacng the Big Deb-Foregn Debt Commission Hard Wo

believe me. eleven billion dol
lars or more is some money said
Jack as he and Ruth were talking
about the money owed the United
states by foreign nations. Have
YOU any idea how much II is?'
g'I can't think of it," answered
Ruth. ITS too much for me. Ten
dollars is more than I can see at
one time"
We'll. anyway that's the amount
.sthe foreign nations owe us for
money loaned them" said Jack.
Hello, kiddies," sand Uncle Ted,
what are you two up 10 now?"
Il just read" answered Jack.
where the foreign countries owe
,,the United States more than eleven
billion dollars and we we're trying
to think just how much that is.
remember you telling us long
time ago, something about this
money"
Yes. Jack" said Uncle Ted,
"there is probably no bigger or
more important problem facing our
government today than this huge
debt. the money for which was
raised by the various liberty bond |
drives and through other sources,
which 1 will tell you OF later. About |
! a year ago Secretary OF the Treasurer
Mellon talked over with President
Harding how this money could be
best refunded. President Harding
went into the matter at once with
Congress and both these big men
pointed out that it would be a fine
way to have these debts put into
tain amount Of interest and with
a set date when they should be
paid A bill was finally passed by
Congress creating what is known as
the World War Foreign Debt Com
Mission. Secretary Mellon is chair
man of the commission and the {
other members are: Secretary
I4ughes, Of the State Department
.secretary of Commerce Hoover, '
Senator Smoot, OF Utah. and Rep {
resentative Burton, of Ohio. The
Headquarters of the commission are {
located in the Treasury Depart l
ment building and Assistant Sec i
retary of the Treasury Elliott {
Wadsworth has been selected sec
Eetary. I
Where TO start on this big work /
is no small matter. The commission
is. first Of all, making a deep study
OF the conditions existing in all the
countries whose debts to us must
be paid. Some nations will be able
TO pay sooner than others and this
viii guide the commission in its
final plan. In gathering this in
Formation the State Department
Treasury and Department of Com
merce will be able to give them a
great deal OF information which
will prove OF help particularly in
view of the fact that the heads of
these three departments are mem
bers of the commission.
you kiddies. as well as many
citizens of the United States, have
forgotten from where all this money
came that was loaned abroad. First,
of all, there was loaned under the
various Liberty loan drives SO, 9,434,
174, ,S29 When the war was over
the Secretaries of War and Navy
sold on credit a lot of left over
war material for s574.673,7f0. From
the American Relief Commission
came supplies worth sS4.093,963
The United States Grain Corpora J
ton provided s56. 6.S5S,s02 worth of }
foodstuffs. This made a total of
$40. 0.4O1, ,305.49. In addition to
this the interest due and unpaid on
those debts amounts to s1,17S.S79,- n
e25.8s r
There are eleven countries obli- a
gated for money advanced under b
the liberty loan acts. These coun- o
tries are, Belgium, Cuba. Czecho- d
saovakia. France. Great Britain. A,