Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-06-11
SOUND PRINCIPLES
FOR ALLIED DEBTS
Payments to America Should Be
Guided by Dawes Plan,
Says C. E. Mitchell.

The fundamental principles Of the
Dawes plan for settling the European
war debt question are applicable TO
the problem of the Allied debts to the
United States, Charles e. Mitchell,
president of the National City Bank
of New York, declares IN an article in
the American Bankers Association
Journal. Mr.. Mitchell says:
Debts between nations are always
a source of international trouble, and
/ consider it of great importance that
our own economic as well IS political
relations with such countries az
France, Belgium and italy may be I'M
proved by an early adjustment OF
eminent.
Country Endorsed Dawes Plan
81 hope that we are gradually learn
ing that such debts, II unduly forced,
may result more calamttously to the
commercial interests of our own coun.
try than to those OF the debtor coun-
try. This talk of forcing payment OF
every dollar to the last penny II
commercially unwise. / think we may
assume that the Dawes plan has had
the Endorsement of the American peo
pie through their election of General
Dawes to the Vice Presidency of the
United States. That plan is one that
establishes fundamental principles
which may be applied in considering
the debts OF one nation to another
resulting from war.
1.-THE hrst principle, as l see it, ID
that the yoke of the war debt shall
not be held as q burden upon the
people beyond the generation that had
TO do with the war. This principle Is
clearly intimated in the fact that the
Industrial and railway debentures
which form the principal security and
means of payment of the debt carry
per cent interest with per cent
amortization, which means that such
obligations are to be over a period Of
about thirty-six years.
An Invitation to Trouble
ANY attempt to force the carrying
OF such debt burdens to the second
and third generations is but an en-
graved invitation to further trouble
1.-THE second principle is that the
debtor country shall be taxed to the
limit while tho debt remains, but in
no event to point where its eco.
nomic structure collapses under the
strain, and, further, that the nationals
of the debtor country shall in no case
have a lesser burden of taxation upon
them than have the nationals OF
the creditor country-another princi
pie the soundness OF which cannot be
questioned
such taxes collected, payments there.
from. shall be made to the creditor
country to such an extent only as they
can be made without disrupting inter.
national exchange and commerce. The
soundness of this last Is apparent on
its face
These regard as the fundamental
principles OF the Dawes plan. and al
OF the hundreds Of pages of the 50.
called Dawes report are devoted to
setting up the machinery by which
these PRINCIPLES can be put into effect.
''If these principles are accepted 90
sound then they must also be sound
principles by which the payment OF
the debts of allied countries to US
shall be determined and we would
best apply such yardBtick as our
measure, rather than attempt to make
popular the slogan of every dollar to
the last penny In the adjustment OF
our foreign relations, essential to the
development of increased export and
import trade, there can be no problem
of greater Importance than reaching
a sound and final conclusion as to this
irritating question Of the debts of al,
lied countries to ourselves"