Evening star., 1925-11-01

but they could also cancel the debts to
each other. Thus, from the European
standpoint. the single remaining OBJ
stacle, the combined barriers Of debts
and reparations. exists solely because
of American policy. 1t does not mere
ly exist now, moreover, but on the
basis Of our settlements with Britain
and our other debtors IS to continue
for 62 years, substantially two genera
tions.
AS between Germany and France,
for example, the situation is no longer
what it once was when the French ex-
pected to find In reparations adequate
returns to meet the costs Of recon
structing the devastated area. If Ger
many has TO pay $500, 900 900 annually
in reparations France has no benefit
Thereby, because all of the French
share goes directly and indirectly TO
the United States. Britain has no
benefit, because all she gets directly
and indirectly goes to America, while
as far as debts owed her are con-
cerned, they, too, net her nothing, be-
cause they will never be sufficient
when combined with reparations to
meet our claims.
But politically what IS the conse
quence? Just this: For two genera
tions the politicians OF every great
power and Of many small states in Eu-
)
that the reason taxes are high. bur
dens intolerable, the standard Of living
depressed. is to be found in the course
of the United States, the richest. most
| prosperous nation in the world, and
the single country TO emerge from the
war at least comparatively in a
stronger position.
! Must Be Unpopular.
! Inevitably we are bound for an in
| definitely long future TO be intensely
and even increasingly unpopular. But
! this is a detail, If vitality significant
! detail. What is important is the obvi-
| Gus fact that this common indebted
ness to the United States must almost
| inevitably lead to a common policy.
| Our mortgage is no longer scattered
among discordant nations separated
| by animosities, pursuing individual
! ends and still hopeful Of making US d
! partisan. No, II runs on a Europe
which has liquidated its political hos
! tilities and laid the foundation for
| business.
/ This mortgage which we hold upon
! Europe, calling for an annual pay
ment OF upward Of half a billion, can
! be met only by money or by goods and
| services. But in the pathway of pay
ment in all of these directions stand
! our own policies. We have created a
tariff which IS well nigh prohibitive:
we have adopted prohibition, which
| excludes French wines, the chief
| French resource; we have adopted a
law limiting immigration. which ex-
| cludes Italian iaborers; we are sub
sidizing a merchant marine which
greatly reduces British ability to pay
| In service.
1t follows, then, that there are two
| quite obvious ways for Europe to act.
| 1t must by collective action reduce its
| purchases IN the United States while
| striving, despite our barriers, to in
crease sales. 1t must also, in co-opera-
| ton, seek to undersell us in the COM
| petitive markets Of the world. notably
in South America, the Far East and
the overseas dominions Of the British
| Empire. 1t must seek to restore Rus
Sla to production and at one time find
| a market for its manufactures and oh
tain from Russia cheap grain to eIimi-
nate the necessity for American pur-
| chase.
Since the war numerous efforts have
been made to Join French and Ger
man heavy tnduStries-steel, iron and
coal-with Belgium participating. All
| efforts have failed because the polit-
1cal obstacles were not eliminated
These obstacles are now removed and
cooperation is practically inevitable
Nor IS 1t to be supposed that British
heavy industries Will fail TO Join In
the combination. A partner in the
pact, Britain becomes inescapably n
partner in the cooperation which re
suits from the pact.
Political Alliance Remote.
should not want to give the i'm
preston that I believe there is any
present or even remote possibility Of
a political alliance Of the European
| great powers against u.s. Europe in
my Judgment. Will not be making OF.
fens1ve alliances politically for many
| a year to come, but, on the other
hand. an economic combination against
us seems Inevitable, a combination
having It's basis in common necessities
and deriving no little strength from
common resentment. We have chosen
to think OF our claims upon the ma
tons which borrowed from US during
the war as individual-to think of our
debtors as French. British, Italians
and Belgians. But this is our own paro-
chtal point of view merely. Restore
, any sense Of solidarity in Europe and,
from the European point of view,
those debts become European.
Again, from the European point OF
view, the American debts represent a
limitation upon European independ
ence. One meets all the time in the
| French press and the italian refer
enceS to the necessity to recover in
dependence by some settlement, some
liquidation of the debt The fact that
our public men feel free to criticize
the foreign and domestic policy OF
France, for example, because France
owes money she has not yet paid or
arranged to pay, is a perpetual af-
front to every Frenchman.
| our public men accJStOO1 a
to point with pride to the Dawes
plan as an American contribution
TO the readjustment OF Europe, re-
garding it as a philanthropic opera
ton, but the French, the Italians and
now the Germans look upon IT as
merely an effort to promote order
in Europe in the hope of protecting
and enhancing our investment. as O
way OF getting our money back. And
our refusal to permit the french to
condition their payments to US upon
their receipts from Germany under the
Dawes plan amounts in French eyes.
at once to a proof of this and to a
reputation OF our responsibility for
the plan.
To be sure nothing is less prob
able than that Europe will at once
and openly proceed to a combination
against us, an economic combina
ton. Europe must, perforce, avoid
such open tactics for long time,
since she has still to make vast nee
essary borrowings in our markets
Her debt to us must be increased for
some time to come. but the basis Of
payment is inevitabl it Is restric-
ton Of purchases in the United
States, both directly and by tariff
arrangements between European ma
tions and intensive competition in
the European markets.
| The British. for example have