Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-19

Americans find cause for congratulate
ing the experts committee on selection
Of Basel, In Switzerland, for the home
/ Of the International Bank, although
they express sympathy for Belgium,
which hoped to win the prize. Success
Is predicted for the institution, whose
! statutes and charter are now reported
by the committee, subject to approval
Of conference at The Hague. No diff
culties are found in connection with
the non-participation of the United
States.
The Louisville Courier journal points
out that Basel, an important railroad
center" was selected Ito avoid any pos
Sible political pressure on the inStitu-
tion," while "for that reason Brussels
was rejected" That paper records that
when Brussels was rejected. the Bel
gian delegation walked out of the meet
ing and would not vote, and at the next
Hague conference may continue to insist
on its claims for the institution" The
Courier Journal recognizes that, las
finally evolved, the clearing house fer
reparations remains little more than
that" and that Its secondary and
auxiliary functions of stabiliZing the
finances of Europe and becoming a
pivotal institution in the financial world
are left to future developments"
n X
Being essentially a European insti-
tuition, dominated by the strongest gov
ernmentS of Europe" says the Provi-
dence Journal, lit ought to be established
in the most neutral location available.
Switzerland comes as near fulfilling this
requirement as any country on the con-
tinent, and she has, moreover, the addl-
tional advantages of being centrally
located. While ordinarily one would like
to see a world bank in close proximity
to the worlds financial center, or at
least In one of the worlds great financial
cities, the fact remains that the present
circumstances are extraordinary and the
path of wisdom and of logic Is that
selected by the international delegates
after three weeks of steady and APP
parently sometimes acrimonious debate"
"The choice of Swiss city empha-
sizes the impartial nature Of the insti-
tuition" concludes the Charleston, S. c..
Evening Post, with the feeling that ut
is better that 1t should be placed in
country which was not participant In
the war and is not concerned in the adj
ministration of the fund for the ham
ding of which 1t was created" The
Rochester TimeS-U Union sees recognition
that "Switzerland's neutrality is not
only protected by hard and fast inter
national agreements, but. is easier e
maintain in a crisis than that of Bel
GUM or even Holland. Banking ex-
perts," continues the Times-Union. ''at
first reported against site so far in
land, for an institution which Is in
tended to play an important part In
foreign exchange transactions. but the
political reasons overcame these techni-
cal objections Grit by mountain peaks
and easier to go around than to force
a way through, Switzerland is becoming
more and more center for interna-
tional institutions seeking a strictly
neutral site" y
Wisdom of the choice of Basel is at
tested also by the Flint Daily Journal,
which adds: Its politics. war neu-
trality and lack of speculative markets
make 1t an ideal place. There will be
a great deal less of prejudice in a
country like Switzerland than If the
bank had gone to London, for example"
The New Orleans Item adds: Most
Americans will not complain over the
selection. Switzerland makes a religion
of neutrality. 1t is too small for its neil
trality to be questioned. 1t is thus a