Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-10
THEUN|S SURPRISED
At LINKING OF WAR
DEBTS WITH ARMS
Declares Military Expendi-
lures Political Rather Than
Economic Question.
RETIRING CHAMBER HEAD
CITES LARGE U. S. FUNDS
Former Belgian Prime Minister
Declares Security Is Major
Issue in Europe.
BY John T. SINCLAIR.


Georges Theunis retiring president of
the International Chamber OF Com
merce and for many years after the
war prime minister of Belgium, does
not see how military disarmament can
be tied up with war debts and repara-
tions. He expresses surprise that any
one in a responsible position should at
tempt to tie them together.
That's a political rather than an
economic question" he said in reply to
a question For at the bottom of 1t
all is the question of security. Why is
Belgium spending several million dol
lars for Notifications right now? It's
because the people of Belgium insist on
security. The same holds true of every
country in Europe that Is spending
more money for military purposes than
it did before the Great War"
Cites U. S. Expenditures.
Turning around in his chair in his
Office in the National Chamber of Com
MERGE Building Mr.. Theunis said:
Take the United States. How much
is it spending for military purposes
these days? Is it not twice as much
as it was before the Great War? And
yet the United States has no one to
fear. Canada is not threatening
power, nor Is Mexico. Nor is the prob
lem of security foremost here, as it is
in Europe. The problem of military
expenditures and their reduction is a
most difficult one to meet. 1t is not
so simple as the average American be-
lieves. Nor is it one that can very well
be tied up TO war debts and repara-
tons"
But President Hoover, at the opening
of the session of business leaders, re-
ferred to the close connection between
military expenditures and the present
world depression. When it was pointed
out to Mr.. Theunis that the total an
nual payments of war debts to the
United States are about per cent Of
the total being spent in Europe an
nually for war preparation, the Belgian
leader still insisted that the problem
was a political and not an economic
one, and as such the two could not,
and should not, be related or tied to-
gether in the manner the American
delegates suggested.
Surprised at Headlines.
Mr.. Tneunis expressed surprise at
the way the newspaper headline writer's
drew conclusions so often at variance
with the articles themselves. He could
not understand why the man who
writes the article should not also be
the person who writes the headline on
the article.
Secretary Mellon in the headlines
opposed war debts modification. But
his speech said not a word about it.
Why is that? Please tell me? Such
thing would not have occurred in
Europe. And that is one of the factors
that makes it very difficult for for
eigners to understand the American
psychology. So long as every man in
the United States, in your conception
of government, is equal TO every other
man, the opinion Ct the non-eXpert is
just as important as that OF the eX-
pert.
That also means that the newspa-
pers must be the informers as well as
molders of public opinion. 1t is all
very difficult, for what seems i'm
pcrtant to one writer does not seem
so important TO another. In the same
way, what we in Europe consider very
vital does not strike American writer's
as such. But conferences such as this
one, at least bring cut those differ
ences and make us have more SYM
pathy with the other persons point of
view"
what is the most important con-
tribution which the International
Chamber Of Commerce gathering has
made this year?" Mr.. Theunis was
asked.
Facts Are Impressive.
ITO me the encouraging thing about
it ALL" he replied, sis the growing in
sistence upon securing facts on which
conclusions can be built. The sig
nificance of facts often appears months
and years after the basic data has
been secured. What Is needed is not
lot of half-digested opinions based
on limited facts, but we'll thought out
conclusions based upon facts which
are indisputable.
IT think this conference has compiled
more important data on the vital issues
facing the world-such as tariff walls,
agriculture, gold and silver, credit, war
debts and reparationS, etc.-than ever
before. We cannot expect that the rep
resentatiye of every country will agree
on what ought to be done with these
facts, but in time the very force of
circumstances will compel the right
action"
do you look for an early recovery in
world trader" he was asked.
1.-THE severity of the crisis which has
devastated the world for the past ID
months precludes the possibility of an
early recovery. Yet, I think we are
getting along because we are all willing
now to face the essentials and to CO.
operate in such conference as this in
an effort to bring around as speedily
as possible a better situation. 1 think
there was more serious attention on the
part of the delegates to this years con-
ference than ever before. Each man
was seriously interested in finding out
what is fundamentally wrong.
StateIpent UnchalIenged.
For example, when the convention
heard me in my opening speech say
that the fundamental cause of the I'M
equal distribution of gold lies in the
uncertain political situation and in the
protectionist policies which prevent
goods from taking the place of gold no
one seriously challenged that position.
Nov the implications of this, If my
conclusion is correct, are very far reach
ing Countries like France and the
United States, having within their pos
session more than two-thirds of all the
monetary gold OF the world, must Sc
riously study the effect of their tariff
rolicieS in order that this prohletn-