Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-25
Europe Working Itself Up Into Hate
Of America Because of War Debts

Continued from First Page.)
contribution to the victory is a sig
nificant straw. The London press is
full of protests at the prevalence of
our films, our plays, of all sorts of
American products, even, sub rosa
a little, Americans themselves.
Resent Our Court Policy.
Every member nation of the
league resents bitterly our course
in serving notice of the terms on
which we would adhere to the World
Court, as if the league, the court.
the world had no better business
than to take our orders and accept
our conditions. and as If our adheT-
ence was of such major importance
that nothing else counted. Italy re-
sents our structures upon Mussolini
and Fascism, France our criticism
of her army, all Europe criticizes our
flight from the league.
But it is money questions that
supply Europe with the text. 1t is
our course in the matter of the debts
which is seized upon as a sound IL
lustration of our purpose to control,
or of our desire TO destroy, or our
ruthlessness and avarice. And one
has to remember that this state of
mind has been created in advance OF
payments. Only Britain is SO far
paying us real money in any con-
siderable quantity. Moreover. Ger
man reparatIons, which are to be the
basis of all payments, are still rela-
lively small and. therefore, German
emotion is not yet aroused.
In the end, Europe will find way
to escape an obligation which it does
not regard as resting on anything
but accidental foundations. / have
not in recent years found any Eu-
ropean who regarded the debt settle
ments, which have been made as any
thing but temporary concessions to
popular emotions. sort of COM
promise to quiet passion, pending the
time when real settlements could be
made. What we get ultimately will
be just what Europe regards as in
its own interests to pay, no more and
no less, when the period in which we
can exercise pressure has passed.
People Believed Rebellious.
In the last analysis, European gov
ernments will not pay because Eu-
ropean peoples win not carry the
. load. European legislators will be
Just as fearful of their constituents
as our legislators have been in the
discussion of debt settlements. In
my Judgment. the day VIII come
when Germany will repudiate her
Preparations duties and her repudia-
tion will be the signal for general
reputation of debts to us. One OF
the most astute diplomats in all OF
Europe, who had figured largely in
debt negotiations, told me in London
last Winter that the signal would
one day come from Germany.
The unfortunate circumstance is
that we are faced with the prospect
of being forced from position to po-
sition, yielding nothing ourselves vol
UNFAIRLY and always getting credit
not for our ultimate concessions but
our original obstinacy. We started
with the bold assumption that every
one would have to pay US every last
red cent. We have cut the British
debt a quarter, the French a half and
the Italian two-thirds. If we had
done any of this with a gesture our
situation might be different. We are
now fighting the French over the
question of giving them a. safety
clause which would enable them to
ask for a readjustment if Germany
any gigantic intellect or any pro-
found acquaintance with France to
know that any French government
which undertook to pay debts after
reparations had been repudiated would
be swept out of power instantly.
Our policy in debt settlement has
been based, not upon the facts in
the world but upon public opinion in
this country. Our congressional
leaders have steadily refused to adj
init that politics of the same sort
were In existence in other countries
and have assumed that because of
American opinion we could make no
concessions, but that despite their own
public opinions foreign statesmen
could concede anything we demanded.
AS a consequence, we have In the
end made few concessions, got pa
per contracts which no one in Europe
and few experts in America believe
have any permanent value and mobi-
lized the public opinion of a whole con-
tinent against us. We have, in fact,
destroyed the real equity in the debts
which was the sense of obligation of
the debtors and thus insured that
payment will continue only while in
terest is served by paying.
U. s. Position in Europe.
Last of all, we have destroyed eur
standing in Europe. We have re-
placed the German as the object of
universal dislike. We have come to
take on something of the appearance
pean countries I'm the years between
1906 and 1914. We are feared, dis