The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-26
REDUCTION SEEN
CERTAIN BEFORE
HOLIDAY ENDS
Pictured as Cold ShyIoCk,
Uncle Sam Again Will Be
Worlds Santa Claus.
NATIONS CAN NOT PAY
America Loses Credit for
Generosity to Save Face
of Politicians.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS
Scripps- Howard Foreign Editor


WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.-That
the war debts to the United States
will not be resumed in 1932-prob-
ably never, in their present form
Is the unpleasant but rapidly grow
ing conviction in official circles
here
Justified by the international ex-
perts meeting at Basic, there is
no longer the remotest chance that
Germany will resume reparations
payments after the twelve-month
Hoover moratorium ends next July,
Informed observers declare.
BY the same token, whether we
like it or not. the allies will not re-
mme payments of intergovernmental
debts to each other and to us. A
new deal all the way round, there
fore, looms as inevitable between
now and next July.
That the United States, in the
end not only will extend the
moratorium, but will accept revision
and reduction on war debts, like
wise is seen here as virtually certain.
You can't get blood out of turnip
Generosity Uncredited
The history OF reparations and
war debts seems on the point OF
repeating itself. The allies at first
insisted Germany would have to pay
the colossal sum of $500, 900 900 900.
The French said 5000, 900, 600 600.
Today they know they can't collect
$4,000 ,000,0 900.
Similarly when a reduction of the
allies war debts to us was preached
a decade ago, there was a torrent
OF protest in administration circles.
Well make EN- pay the last red
cent? the politicians cried
What actually happened when the
debt-funding agreements we're
signed was that the United States
cut the debts an average of AZ per
cent. In other words, on basis of
present value at per cent interest,
it accepted SIS cents on the dollar.
Great Britain was let off with Y
cents on the dollar, France with AZ,
Italy 81, Belgium As, and so on.
Nevertheless and Notwithstanding.
thanks to it's strangely paradoxical
attitude on the debts question, the
United States lost all credit for its
very real generosity.
U. S. Is Santa Claus
Publicly, the administration de-
lberately played the part of a cold,
calculating Shylock. In reality it
was only a good-natured Santa
Claus.
In its public statements, cabled
around the world, it was making
'em pay to the last red cent" Ac-
tually it was saying to the allies:
Just pay us what you think you
can spare"
Naturally enough. Europe in gen.
CT and the allies in particular
played UP the Shylock role of Uncle
Sam. We admitted, even boosted,
that we we're hardboiled and that We
intended to collect our ounce Of
flesh.
And the world took lis at our own
valuation. Accordingly Uncle Sam,
the Santa Claus, caught in his Shy
lock disguise, was roasted alive by
public opinion. Americans, through
their own fault, were eXecrated
The United States already has
cancelled practically every cent of
the actual war debts-which it now
is admitted is what Washington
should have publicly stressed. But,
fearing the effect this might have
on domestic politics, it chose to
conceal the facts instead.
Farce to Be Re-Enacted
France, for example, had bor-
rowed approximately S4,000,000, 900.
OF this amount, S2,350000,000 was
borrowed during the war and
1850 100000 after the war. AS the
present cash value of her settle
ment is only $1,000 100000, reckoned
OF per cent, in effect we have cam
celled her war debt and are asking
her to pay only her postwar, or
commercial obligation.
This holds true of the rest of the
allied war debts, except that of
Britain. She having re-loaned most
OF the money we let her have and
arranged to get it back, with inter-
est, there was less reason to cancel
as big a proportion of her indebted
ness as was done for some of the
others.
Despite the hatred and abuse in
CURED by the United States abroad
because of the previous mishandling
Of the problem, there is reason to
believe the whole thing is on the
point of being re-enacted.
. ME IM IMNIhM PEN0I T