Evening star., 1925-11-14
Europe Reacts.

United States toward the Italian debt
settlement with the United States is
one of general satisfaction, though on
different grounds.
The most significant and most sat
| isfactory fact, hailed on all sides, is
| that a settlement has been made. In
| the settlement of the international
! war debts with the United States, be
| cause of the circumstances in which
our European associates in the World
impossible for them To settle the obli-
cations Immediately or to make full
payment of interest plus the prin-
cipal. 1t is undeniably true that in
making these settlements the United
| States does not get as much as it
would like to get or is entitled to get,
and at the same time the debtor ma
| tions agree to pay more than they
want to pay.
, In Italy the announcement of the
| debt settlement has been hailed with
| JOY. according to dispatches from
Rome. The blanket cancellation of
! about S1.713, ,0O0,O0O in interest by the
! United States is no small concession.
| Italy. moreover, has felt the pinch of
poverty, of lack of credit, of instabil-
| ity of currency. Her people are
hopeful that with the settlement now
made with the United States and with
a settlement to be made with Great
! Britain the financial situation Will
| he improved and that they can pro-
coed to make use of their resources
and their labor TO the utmost capacity
| for their own benefit as we'll as for
! the benefit Of Italy's creditors.
The French apparently take it for
granted that after settling with Italy
| on such lentent terms the United
States will be more ready to make
concessions to the French. They see
an early resumption of negotiations
between France and this country to
fund the debt of France 10 the United
States, negotiations which failed d
few weeks ago when NJ. CaillauX,
| then minister of finance, came to
Washington in an effort to arrange
this matter of some $4,000, ,00O, 900.
From the American viewpoint,
however, the French debt occupies a
! different position from that of Italy,
| because the capacity Of Italy to pay
! is vastly less than that of France.
| Such is the opinion of experts who
! have examined conditions abroad.
! The United States is not a usurer.
| But it is entitled to be paid for the
! advances which it made. That ts all
! America has ever asked. If there
! have been concessions to this or that
| debtor. il is not because the debts
were not just debts, but because the
debtors We're not in q position to pay
| in full without distress. Italy's re
! than those of Great Britain and
| France, although Italy IS a proud
and great country. Yet Italy's debt
| TO the United States and her debt to
| NIIt eat itotlil eilllOuIlI W dppIOA-
| imately the debt of Great Britain to
| the United States. When the differ
ence between her resources and those
| of Great Britain are taken into con-
sideration. it appears that, in view of
| the tremendous size of her debts, she
| should not be expected to pay on the
| same terms as Great Britain.
{ The United States Government has
| from the first insisted upon consider
! ing each settlement with the war
debtors separately and without con-
! nection with German reparations. 1t
! is not likely that this policy will now
! be abandoned. The settlement with
| France will be made after full con-
sideration of all the facts. irrespective
of the settlement with Italy.