Evening star., 1922-08-27

transport to France the great armies
which, thank God. proved sufficient to
cast the deciding weight into the
wavering balance of war No amount
OF money can pay for such a service.
More than a million soldiers
of our allies were killed, and another
million gravely wounded, during that
fateful year. g
Heed the Battle Line,
Our first and indispensable service,
the only one that We We're able in
stantly to render, was to furnish to
our all but financially exhausted al
lies the advances to enable them to
hold the battle line until we could
come. What was the, money loaned
for. and what was it used for? Sup
plemented by other billions, which
the allies themselves provided, the
money was used to purchase the
cannon and ammunition. the clothing
and food that maintained the six
and a half millions of soldiers who
for that year of unparalleled carnage
held back the common enemy, not
own
'In length of service in loss of
life, even in money spent. the sacri-
flee of our allies was SO much greater
than ours that We shall never be
able to convince them, or to con-
vince impartial history, that these
loans. used in the common cause.
should in justice be returned to us
by our PROSTATE friends.
THE war was the noblest joint en-
terprise in the history Of mankind.
and our country discharged the part
assigned to it in such a high fash
ion that the glory OF it will be the
most precious possession Of those
who shall come after US for CEN
turies unless we despoil them of 1t
by making America the Shylock
among the nations by the collection
of these debts"
Il protest, however, against this
phrase being applied to my Amer
ican friends, for l know well that II
they appear to take that position 1t
is because of ignorance of the facts)
Means Crushing Taxation.
ITO make payment, the nations
must impose crushing taxes on their
people condemned to pinch
ing poverty year after year to pay
a debt which not one of them be-
lieves to be morally or justly
due.
1--WE should tell the truth to the
country. We should say to the peo-
pie that these loans are neither
moral nor a just obligation, because
if they were paid we should not
have borne our just share of the
burden of defending the great COM
mon cause"
Surely the opinion of this great
American jurist should have weight.
The allied peoples do not ask a do
nation. They ask only justice. 1t
should, however. be realized that this
claim is one of the principal OBJ
stacles to the rehabilitation of Eu-
rope and Of the world. The lessening
of the burdens of taxation in coun-
tries. where they are of crushing
weight is a first essential. But for
this claim there would already have
been a wholesale cancellation of in
terallied debts and probably other
adjustments. Payment of these de-
mands would mean a further addi-
ton to the taxes in Britain of from
5 to Z per cent on all incomes from
f1OO up.
1t is sometimes said that cancella-
ton of these debts would encourage
Europe in further. war expenditures.
This is certainly not true of Britain.
AS for other countries, how can their
action be Influenced by insisting on
a claim which they consider unjust
and do not intend to pay? In any
case, would that create debt il none
now really exists?
And now I rest my, case. The. tudg-
ment of the American people is sound,
but they must hear both sides. Ny
own conviction Is that whom they
understand the facts they will do
mand that their government cancel
these claims gladly. and without con-
dition. They will pay their way.