Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-21
MEN AND MONEY
By NJ. S. Rukeyser.
Copyright. 1927


| (Coryright 1927
After the manner of Harvard Uni
| versity, Secretary Mellon accuses
Princeton Of rough tactics, not on the
grjdiron, but in the arena or inter
national politics and finance. In his
letter to John Grier Hibben, president
| of Princeton. on the subject of inter
! allied war debts, the head of the
| Treasury at Washington implies thar
| the faculty at old Nassau was remlss
| in not STUDYING the facts first-hand
| before broadcasting it's opinion that a
| general revision would be wise. Inc
| Princeton action was a certlncate OF
approval of a similar stand taken pre-
| viously by the faculty of political sci
! ence of Columbia University.
Secretary Mellon wrote strong
answer to his academic critics. 1t
| was probably intended more for con-
sumption in the capitals of Europe
than in the seminar rooms at Prince"
/ ton and Columbia. The professors
failed to convince the Treasury that
the question should be reopened, and
by the same token Mr.. Mellon has
evidently been equally unsuccessful IN
winning over his critics. There Is a
great disparity between the two view
points. The academicians are attempt
ing to take a broad view of the dis
tant future, whereas the Secretary is
naturally more directly concerned with
immediate policies.
The university men. dealing with
the imponderahles of international
friendship and justice. were somewhat
vague in their documents. whereas
Mr.. Mellon in his rejoinder dealt with
the concrete facts OF contracts ana
specific obligations.
Points in Mellon Defense.
The main points in the Mellon de-
Tense of his war debt agreements,
which thus far have been adopted by
the chief debtors except France, We're:
That except in the case of Great
Britain, the debtors are asked to pay
back sums whose present value is
equivalent to what they borrowed after
the signing of the armistiCe.
That the allies are receiving enough
from Germany Tor in the case of Great
Britain from allied debtors) to cover
their payments to the United States.
That to forgive the Europeans Of
their war obligations would shift the
burden of paying a large part Of the
cost of the war from Germany to the
United States.
That if war expenditures by the
allies since 1917 are to be pooled, as
some suggest, the United States should
be credited for cash purchases made
in France and elsewhere.
The Pittsburgh financier, who &C.
cupies the chair of Secretary of the
Treasury, took a slap at the campus
dons for their intimation that war debt
agreements should be modified in order
to cultivate more friendly relations
with European countries. Mr. Mellon,
disdaining the morals of the counting
room, with an idealistic gesture,
argued that friendship cannot be
bought and paid for. AS to this, the
Secretary said: II doubt whether
European nations dislike us as we'll as
some people tell us they do. But I
know this, that If they do, the can
collation. of that part of their debts
which has not already been cancelled
will not Of itself change their dislike
to affection. Neither in international
relations any more than in private life
is affection a purchaseable commodity
while my observation and reading Of
history lead me to conclude that a
nation is hardly likely to deserve and
maintain the respect of other nations
by sacrificing it's own just claims"
Baker Urged Cancellation.
The individual who reopened the de-
bate on war debts before the Columbia
Political Science Faculty put itself on
record was Newton d. Baker, Presi-
dent Wilson's Secretary of War, who
in an article last Fall in the organ of
4 Cleveland bank, urged cancellation of
war debts.
In view of the fact that the French
Parliament has not yet acted on the
so-called Mellon-Berenger agreement,
some observers in the financial dis
trict believe that the critical barrage
has been ill-timed from an American
standpoint, although there is general
recognition Of the good intentions Of
Mr.. Baker and the Columbia and
Princeton professors.
Unless the unexpected occurs and
the war debts are forgiven, the pres
ent generation may be sure that the
debate on this subject will recur dur
ing the rest of its natural life.
And yet in practical way, Ameri-
can investors have been registering
their faith that Europe was fast COM
ing back-war debts or no war debts.
Since last Summer, there has been a
sensational rise in all French securi-
ties. AT present. Italian obligations,
which have also climbed upward, are
especially strong.
System Gets Black Eye.
OF one fact the public may be sure,
the system Of intergovermental lend