The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-23
ABLE men ON
FOREIGN DEBT
COMMISSION
Appointments First Step to
Make European Conditions
Clear = Must Educate e
America as to Situation.
FRANCE SHIFTS STAND
BY MARK SULLIVAN

sound discouraging when NJ. Loucheur
says that France can't pay sou of
what she owes us. But to those who
are familiar with the position that
French public men of more or less the
same position as Loucheur took three
years ago, this news is not hopeless,
but on the contrary encouraging
While our American officials were
at Paris during the peace conference
three years ago this month, a French
ex-mlnister of finance, M. Ribot, put in
circulation carefully prepared state
ment' about the financial relations of
france and America.
NJ. Ribot took it completely for
sranted that France would never pay
us any of the war loan. On the con-
tfary his computation arrives at the
assumption that we owe France some
hundreds of millions.
He said that in paying the cost of
ne war three things should be done:
hrst, the cost should be allocated
among the allies in proportion to their
national wealth and natural resources.
That. of course, would have made
America the heaviest con ntributor.
Second, Mr.. Ribot said that each
ally should antedate it's entry into war
back to the beginning, Aug 1, 1914.
and contribute its share as from that
date
Mr.. Ribot's third point was that an
equation should be established be-
tween losses in man-power. If these
three rules were figured out in dollars
they would put America heavily In
Frances debt.
Suggested Dropped
The American officials who were in
Paris at the time, regarded M. Ribot'e
proposal as preposterous, and found
WAYS 10 let the French know how they
felt. The suggestion was dropped
And nothing more in the nature OF
official or semi-official statement on
this subject has come to America un-
til NJ. Loucheur's statement, which in
the light of the position three years
ego. is rather cheering.
II is not unlikely that the negotia-
tions about to take place on this point
between our debt commission and the
French may be handled for the French
By NJ. Loucheur
NJ. Loucheur is successful busi-
ness man. who in a sense has been
drafted by the French government for
assistance in business and economic
matters. He is very able and high
. minded. and the Americans who had
\ relations with him during ire peace
conference have the highest regard
for him. AS business man he is of
the trading type, who asks rather more
at the beginning of bargain than he
expects to get at the end.
Some who were in touch with tie
Paris negotiations about reparations
thought they observed that the ratio
between French demand and French
expectancy was something like to l.
Able Commission.
The. American commission just Sp
pointed by President Harding to at
tend to these foreign debts should
command the highest confidence. Sec
retary Hoover probably knows more
about the economic and business cor
ditions of Europe than any other one
man.
Secretary Mellon is business man
of just the type to take account of the
larger equities in such situation ds
this is.
Mr.. Hughes name carries its own
weight Senator Smoot is business
man of the painstaking type, with an
infinite capacity for details and hard
work Ex-senator Theodore Burton is
probably the best combination of
scholar. lawyer and banker now in pub
lie life in America.
Probably the first task of this COM
mission will be TO determine just what
can be done and then TO enlist the
confidence of America in whatever
their plans turn out TO be.
Must Educate America
1t may eventuate that America will
have to be taught that there is mere
TO this transaction than the simple
\ business of collecting debt. Econo-
mists and business men know there is
something in NJ Loucheur's argument
that America couldn't afford to let Eu-
rope pay what she owes us, if she is to
pay in gold and if we are to have a
tariff of such height as to prevent her
paying in goods. -..
A British statesman with whom |
had an argument about these debts
said, We'll pay you in gold. We will
throw the gold in on you until you are
up to your neck and drowning in it
and yell for help"
No Empty Threat
Just why this was no empty threat
is matter of the economics of finance
anu lOIViSy ttdts, ~ ltliotc tudI lew
of the public understand it, and our
leaders will need to carry on a con-
siderable campaign of education.
In the end Mr. Harding's commits
sion can make no arrangements about
these debts that do not meet the ap-
proval of a majority of the American
public, and there is little doubt that
the attitude of the American people
on this point would be modified il
France should show a disposition to
reduce her army and the money she is
spending on her army, and otherwise
fall in with Americas ideas towards
bringing the world out of chaos.