Evening star., 1924-08-06

| reputation. But they would almost
| certainly be in receptive mood.
| The other day the Society of For
eign Bondholders published its both
! annual report The business of this
venerable institution is to collect re-
pudiated debts owing to citizens OF
this country. Among the "defaulting
and bankrupt" nations listed In the
, report appears the name OF the United
| States, and it Is down for a total of
about $216,000 900. including interest
| This is only S66,000,000 more than
Great Britain Is now paying US an
| nually in interest on her war loans.
| Confederate states Debts.
The "defaulted" American debt rep
resents unredeemed- obligations of
some Of the Confederate States of
America, incurred in those unhappy
days when certain elements in Great
Britain backed the wrong horse dur
| ing the Civil War. Wide publicity Is
! given to this "repudiated" American
! debt from time to time. and British-
ers contemplate 1t with no little heat
when they consider the bargain which
I Mellon drove with Baldwin q year
ago.
Both the minority and the majority
| schools of debt, though, seem to have
swollen gold supply will of it's own
crushing momentum goad US into CIV
ing Britain a squarer deal. A distin-
guished English publicist, dilating
upon the inescapable theme, recalled
William Jennings Bryan's celebrated
convention speech of 1896. and said
that American mankind" might, in
deed. yet be crucitied upon cross OF
gold.
With the talk Of the American debt
in Britain there is indissolubly linked
up the economic plight of this coun-
try. The question Of foreign trade is
| wrapped up with 1t. The high taxes
under which John Bulls back is bend
! ing are directly involved. What he
resents with unconcealed vexation is
the high tariff wall which America
has erected, making it virtually i'm
| possible, the Britisher AYERS, for him
| to pay off any considerable tithe OF
his American obligations in goods.
Export Trade vital.
Britain breathes and lives and has it's
being by export trade. That trade ham
pered or shut of, its jugular vein is in
danger. When Britain contemplates an
Uncle Sam insisting upon his pound Of
flesh with one hand and with the other
warding of British exports from enter
ing the American market. it envisages
an Uncle Sam that it finds difficult to
| look upon as the generous, idealiStic
soul he likes to consider himself
The decline of British trade. especial
| ly in such key industries as iron and
steel, is one of the prolific themes OF
discussion at this moment. Many Brit
ishers. without stopping to reason out
the why and wherefore OF their accusa-
tion, charge us "graSping Americans"
with at least grave portion of the re-
sponsibility for British industrial woe.
This month of July there are approx
mately 1.024,000 unemployed persons in
Great Britain. During 1923 and the first
six months of 1924 the treasury paid out
s57 10000 in unemployment doles.
Meantime there is steady advance in
the cost of wages and materials. Every
thing is dearer than ever before in his
tory.
The rich feel the pinch along with
the poor. Great landed estates in town
and country are being parceled and
sold because their maintenance is no
longer profitable. Never were so
many mansions in Park Lane, classic
abode of the aristocrat and the pluto
crat, shuttered and tenantless.
High Income Tax Blamed.
The high income tax is blamed for
this state of affairs. It's effects ramify
in many directions and result in a sort
of vicious circle-a sort Of beggar-my-
, neighbor condition. High as American
income taxes were until the passage Of
| IIiC iSSclil lSNSHuC ISldIlcli, lIlcs "CiC
modest compared to what John Bull has
been contributing practically ever since
the arrnistice.
The present rate of taxation on profits
is As cd in the pound, or 22h per cent,
and in some cases mounting to 272 per
cent. For individuals the difference be-
tween the countries is more startling.
. Income tax is levied on all incomes
above SIS a year. For married persons
; the law exempts s1.1s5, The rate in
Fl creases up to As Sd in the pound. as in
the case of profits. On incomes over
$40, 900 supertax is charged. Until the
recent American tax reductions en-
! acted by Congress comparisons were
{ as follows:
Income. English tax. C.S tar
| 50 600 ................ Sl774.40 SSIO
!, | eZ,UUO ............'... nffoS 90
5000 ................ 10, 1000 LOU
, Vaguely, but vehemently, all Of these
. | considerations are associated in the
/ British popular mind with the American
; debt 1t is convinced that injustice and
: hardship march hand in hand from the
: beginning to the end of the Baldwin set
= tlenent The man in the street" now
= more than ever a potent arbiter OF Brit
i | ish destinies since Labor took ONCE, Is
5 not prepared wholly to dissemble his
r love for us. But until something is done
! | about the debt he is not likely to cherish
Z~l ,nHE E@1 t~