Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-06
.SHlPSTEAD BLAMES
U. S. IN DEPRESSION,
ADDRESSING FORUM
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the Senator added that governments
the world over, including the entire
Western Hemisphere Except Canada
and the United States are in a similar
condition Of insolvency"
How much responsibility have we
for this crisis?" he asked, then added:
Il think that we, as collective group
In world affairs, as a Nation whose
force Is exercised with or without popu-
lar knowledge and consent, by govern
ment executives and by business execu-
tives, together or independently think
repeat-that we have considerable
degree Of responsibility, perhaps more
than what is usually termed a fair
share We have pursued certain poll
cies for Is years and these policies have
cause European people and governments
to act in certain ways. We have toler-
ated the largest scale borrowing ven
ture ever set on foot, all upon the as
surance from our most respectable
leaders, public and private, that this
was sure to re-create a basis OF world
confidence and bring about an increase
of world trade by several hunderd per
cent, out of which all wartime and post
war obligations would be easily liqui-
dated.
Germany Final Debtor.
"The borrowing was all based ap-
parently upon calculations that our
Treasury policies regarding the Euro
pean government debts to our Govern
ment would work out tremendously
and constructively All the private
borrowing seemed to rest upon an in
volved network of public agreements.
The final debtor of course, was clev-
erly assumed to be Germany"
Though this Government did not
ratify the treaty of the Versailles, it was
represented in the parleys leading up
to its formulation, and thus I'VE had
our share in the first Of the agree
ments, which gave rise to the in
verted pyramid of borrowing" Ship
stead emphasized.
Pointing out subsequent agreements
reached through the Young and Dawes
committees, Senator Shipstead said in
these I'VE have had the more or less
direct participation Of Washington and
New York authorities, now surrepti-
tious, now overt" adding "it has been
said we were in them unofficially, but
financially they have involved us In
them all"
How much responsibility the Ameri-
can people will want to shoulder for
this participation will be learned "if
and when the subject Of cancellation
of war debts comes before Congress"
Senator Shipstead said.
Nationally. the speaker said, the
paper losses to date" in the depression
have exceeded the combined losses of
the panics of 1873, 1898, 1907, 1920
and 1921, and, so far as we have ways
to measure the real or relative losses
In those declines, it is found that in
all probability all of them together did
not approach the present disaster in
magnitude"
Urges Probe of Problems.
I'VE have pursued certain policies
within our country in the last is years
that have had a great deal more to do
with the cause of the depression here
than most of our people realize or many
are willing to admit; these problems
should be probed and explored" Sen
ator Shipstead concluded.
THE need for doing so is urgent and
should not be further delayed. A
policy of drift and inaction can only
lead to further chaos. The longer we
postpone action, the nearer we approach
the 1882 elections. The nearer we ap-
proach elections, the more we use the
colored glasses of partisan politics. Let
us forget party politics and the COM
ing elections, and cooperate, not to
see that nothing is done, but to CO.
operate in seeing to it that some
thing be done. In that spirit 1 venture
to respectfully say that Congress ought
to be called into extraordinary session
at the earliest possible day."
(The full text of Senator Shipstead's
speech is carried in the editorial sec
ton of todays Starr