Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-29
WHAT UNCLE SAM SHOULD
DO

cratic candidate for president, mas
been travelling in Europe, and III
tells US that the German govern
tnent sees no ray of hope ahead un-
less Uncle Sam "~intervenes" in
Europe. "Unless the United States
interests herself in European at
fairs in a very short time, all IN
Germany is lost, and all in central
Europe as WE'LL" says Chancellor
Wirth to Governor Cox, and tells
him to deliver that message to the
United States. W. have been get
ting that message from Europe
cutie often of late. 1t has come from
London, Paris, Vienna and other
capitals of Europe. But 1t is never
phrased very frankly. They talk
about America taking an Interest.
in Europe, or intervening in
Europe, or aiding Europe. What
they mean is lending money to
Europe without any security that
1t will ever be paid. The United
States has about a third OF the
available gold in the world. 1t uses
its gold supply to preserve its
paper currency at par. Uncle Sans
promise to pay gold on demand is
good because he has the gold to pay
with. Europe's paper promises to
pay gold are not good, because
they have not the gold to redeem
them with. They have been print
ing and giving out so many of these
promises to pay gold that if we
made Europe a free gift of every
gold piece we have, it would not be
enough to take up their promises.
We could ruin ourselves by such
generosity, but we could not re-
store their currency to a gold basis.
Germany alone has more than ten
bill;6n dollars Of these paper prom
ises to pay gold to the holders OF
her paper marks outstanding. The
total stock. of gold in the United
States is only a little over three
billion dollars. We could only
bring disaster on ourselves and not
save Europe by exporting our gold
to those unhappy countries.
Probably no sane person IN
Europe expects us to do that. But
if we can't give them gold, we can
give them credit, they say. That is,
we can sell them our goods and take
their promises to pay some time in
the distant future in payment tor
these goods. The French have a
first mortgage on everything OF
value that Germany has, and every
thing in the way of new wealth
that she can create in the next half
century. They would be glad to
have us make Germany a longtime
loan. They would promptly convert
= that loan to their own use and
benefit. The more Germany can
get by hook or crook, the more
the French can take from them, and
they have lot been slow to an
nounce that they intend to do just
that. If the United States were
disposed to lend Germany money,
and we do not believe that it is so
disposed, we do not see that 1t
would help the Germans much,
though it might help France and
her allies.
The United States fought a war
with Germany. We spent more
money in fighting that war than
France or Germany spent. We
spent almost as much as Great
Britain spent. We put a load on
the shoulders of the taxpayers of
this republic sthat is very grievous.
We will not get it paid off in this
generation, or the next, or the next.
We have not charged a cent of it
to Germany or Austria or Turkey
or Bulgaria. We have not asked
any of these defeated nations for
a war indemnity. Neither have we
asked or received one square yard
of their territory. We have asked
them for nothing except that they
--ehave themselves in the future.
Even loans contracted for food
stuffs after the war and paid for
with American taxpayers money,
we have told them, need not be paid
for a quarter of a century. Ger
many has paid the French and Bel
gian troops of occupation in accord
with her armistice agreement, but
she has not paid us the cos OF our
troops of occupation. More than a
third of a billion dollars we paid
out for them, but it is still
Charged" with no prospect OF col
lection. 1t is a bad bill.
~a 80 chat all