The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1922-05-05
AMERICA READY To
MAKE COLLECTIONS
1T IS BELIEVED ENGLAND GAN
PAY lNsTALLMENT ON Ac-
COUNT OF INTEREST
cxecho-SIovakla 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
$11 ,O00,0 100000 owed to the United
States by various European nations
has organized. The next step, neces-
sarily, viii 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-informed person to
guess approximately what these re-
sponses will be.
Great Britain win probably pay d
considerable sum on account of the
accrued interest and express willing
ness to accept any terms that the
United States may suggest about fu-
ture installments. Aside from Great
Britain. 1t is difficult to think of any
OF the other natoins that is likely
10 make any payments on account.
II is just possible that the Czecllo-
Slovak government may be PREPARED
to do something In a 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 Affairs in such a way as
to qualify as a solvent debtor. AS Il
rresule of Czecho-Slovak economy and
the sound management Of its finances
it 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 its various answers,
the next step, logically, will be re-
port by the commission to congress.
That report may turn out to be dis
APPOINTING to congress and the country.
So far as the country expects all Of
these debts to be refunded on d nor
NAL basis at normal rate of interest
and with installments beginning i'm
mediately, the country is likely to be
disappointed
Beyond these three steps 1t is diff
cult to see farther into the future. By
the time alllthis has taken place GER
tain other angles of the European
situation viii be clearer than they
are now. If those of the European
nations which have debased their eur
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 a request by some Of
them for an advance of part of
the United States gold to serve as n
basis for their new currency.
AT this point II is going to be ne
cessary for America to practice good
deal of wisdom. If any OF those Eur.
opean countries show nm honest dis.
position to stop spending more thun
their income and to stop printing pa
per money, then 1t would be d wise
and statesmanlike thing for America
to lend them some American gold un.
der proper restrictions.
Just why It is disadyantageous for
America to have such Al disproportion-
ately large share OF the worlds gold
supply and why it would be advan.
taeous for America to devote some os
It 70 enabling other countries to sta.
Billie their currency is o 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-
SO owes some hundreds of millions to
American bankers.