Evening star., 1925-03-02
THE STORY OF THE FRENCH DEBT
BY WILLIAM P. HELM, Jr.

mediately preceding the armistice
For many other supplies than mu-
nitions and foodstuffs, France spent
s276, 100000 in the United States dur
ing the AZ months Of borrowing from
the American Treasury. And once
more, the trend OF this sort OF spend
ing is the same. During the period
prior to the armfstice French spend
tngs in the United States for these
assorted supplies totaled ss6,500, 900;
after the armistice, they ran 10 $780,
100000. For which. Of course, the
United states Treasury paid, taking,
in exchange, the French promises to
pay which now constitute a part of
the French debt.
Transportation and shipping charges
Of French purchases in the United
States during the ~ months totaled
about s155,000,0 ,00e. OF that sum.
about s87,000,000 was spent prior to
the armistice and s6s,000, 900 subse-
quent to the armistice.
Fifty-four million dollars Of Amer
lean borrowings were spent for
French relief work during the 23
months following the armistice: $50
100000 prior to the armistice. Those
spendings represented the sums ex-
pended by the French government out
of money borrowed from the United
States and were in addition to Amer
lean spendings for relief which in
themselves were considerable.
Largest Single Item Explained.
Tho largest single item charged
against the government of France on
the American ledger is put down as
'reimbursements." This item amounts
to si,o45, 7Sl, $3.50. 1t is purely a
bookkeeping charge, made for the
convenience of the allies, and is offset
by counter credits. The Treasury De-
partment thus explains it:
THE items of reimbursements in
cluded in the statements of expendi-
lures consist principally of payments
by France and Italy to Great Britain
for cereals (of which France Rp-
peared to purchase none in the United
States) sugar meats, and munitions
and for neutral freights, and other
disbursements made to neutraIs and
OF payments by Belgium TO Great Brit
ain for horses, petrol. oats, flour and
certain relief supplies furnished by Great
Britain out of supplies obtained act
ually or constructively from the
United States"
The total of these reimbursemeuts
debts against all governments on
American ledgers during the Az
month period was S1,S72,914,6O3.92
The total credited all governments as
reimbursements on the same ledgers
during the same period was S1,S72,-
4,6o3.92. 1t will be observed that
the items balance. Hence this largest
of all items appearing on the French
list of expenditures OF American
loans in reality was purely a book
keeping arrangement due to a trans
fer among the various allies of debts
and credits.
borrowed IN pny IufNreSt
As stated in a previous article,
France paid interest due on Ameri-
can loans up to May 81, 1919. She
did this simply by borrowing from
the American Treasury a sum suf-
ficient to meet the interest as It be-
came due. Her borrowings for that
purpose, the record shows, totaled
$2SS,7sl,426 during the 25-month
period in which she kept her interest
payments up TO date. She also bor-
rowed 2S9,744,755 to meet maturing
obligations.
For silver France spent s6,s00,oo0
in the United States during the AZ
month period and for miscellaneous
purchases about $41,300,0 900.
The money for all these purchases.
lacking about $3.50, 900, 900, France OBJ
tanned from our Treasury. None
of the money borrowed from the
United States was re-lent to French
allies by France. That was a policy
not in keeping with the American idea
of doing business, for America made
her loans direct.
However, the record shows that be-
tween March 1, 1914 and December 81,
1919, or doing the period of the war
and mnediately thereafter, France
made loans to it's allies totaling T.
b15,0OO,0O0 francs, a sum approaching, .
at the various rates of exchange, ST.
0e0, ,000,0 900. Thus while France was
borrowing in this country she also
was lending in Europe, and while she
did not lend the actual dollars bor-,
rowed from the American Treasury,
those dollars made 1t possible for her
to lend her francs.
(copyrixht, is2g.l