Evening star., 1922-03-07
Not a Sou" From France?

The average American liberty
bond holder" the Hartford Times
(denocratic) believes, will probably
be not little dashed at the assertion
of Louis Loucheur. formerly a mem
ber of the French cabinet under
BRAND, that France will never be
able to pay a sou" of it's war debt to
the United States. True, as the Cana
dian Vancouver Province points out,
this is not an official announcement,
but only an expert opinion, probably
expressed with a political purpose" ="
Nevertheless. American editors gener-
ally feel with the Philadelphia Ppblic
Ledger independently that Loucheur
speaks for most of France and was
only putting very bluntly what
France has repeated to herself so
often that she now believes 1t as true
as gospel" Coming just at a time
when official action looking toward a
funding of the European debt has
been taken in the appointment of a
commission. newspapers here regard
this warning of the French attitude
as distinctly discouraging. -
The interest of the American lib
erty bond holder is pointed out fur
ther by the Ann Arbor mich Times
government" 1t says, has at last
reached a point where it is necessary
for it to get ready to repay its debts
to the people of the United States"
but unless the governments of Eu-
rope show some disposition to pay
what they owe this country our
government cannot pay what it owes
it's own people" If. as the Kalamazoo
Gazette (republican asserts. NJ.
Loucheur expresses "a view which
has come to be practically unanimous
in France. "a feeling that the United
not be reimbursed for these vast war
loans," then. declares the Lexington
Leader (republican);s it means repu-
diation. pure and simple. with all its
implication of insolvency and volun-
Vary bankruptcy"
pendent) tries to soften this attitude
somewhat, however, by showing the
wide difference between the French
and the American viewpoint concern
ing this Indebtedness. 1t says: a..
Europe. it should be recalled, is
much more accustomed than the
United States to wartime subsidies;
it has had many wars of coalitions.
some of the members of which have
found it more convenient to contrib
ute money than to send an army. 1t
is not very surprising that Europeans
tion as being of this sort, and, in fact,
the American conception Of it as an
ordinary business transaction Is re-
garded by many F'renchmen as mean
and sordid." -.
This attitude that we were merely
paying France "a moral debt" finds
no sympathy in the Chicago Tribune
(independent republican,, for Ameri-
cas- prime interest in the war was
that it should STOP" and to this end
large sums were loaned" and while
the United States went to war with
full transports" it came home with
an empty trunk" and ut cannot con-
cede now that it owes any European
nation anything"
So far as the soundness Of Lou
Charleston (s.. c. News and Courier
(democratic) believes his logic ir-
resistibIe, and we may as we'll recog-
nize its force" On the other hand.
other competent witnesses are
QUESTION that logic The Philadelphia
quotes Samuel vauclain. "who, al
though an American. has long had an
intimate acquaintance by personal
finance" to the effect that Europe
can pay and we should insist that she
sheuld. If only to prevent her, from
becoming pauperized and thus stand
ing in the way of her own economic
recovery" and most Americans, the
Bulletin thinks. will consider Mr..
Vauclain a better. authority
Nevertheless, the Philadelphia Pub
lie Ledger independently asserts, "a
sort of understanding is growing. up
in Europe that the loans will not be
repaid" and il that is true, 'if M.
Loucheur knows what he Is talking
about" the st. Joseph News-Press
independently suggests that "the re-
funding process. now soon to start,
may largely be buncombe:" Again,
"if all this is true" what use is
there, the Richmond Times-Dispatch
(democratic) asks, I'm protracted
conferences over the refunding, of
the French debt? Why go through
the motions of issuing a new bond
to take the place of the present
demand notes, when it is well known
that the bond is virtually valueless?
But ait is the business of the fund
ing commission. the. Canton News
(democratic) replies. TO chanse the
debt into a recognized opiigatioR
it has no authority. the Bangor tMs.)
Commercial independently ADDS. TO
cancel the debts, Its duty is to ar.
range a method by which they can
be paid" and its deliberations: the
Chicago Post (independent) FEELS,
should be, "unhampered" by. such
provocative talk" as M. Loucheur's
bad break" .-
The Air Jam: -~s' .