The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-10-08

that they are helpful In world de.
 velopmont, provided always one
 essential principle dominates the character of these transactions.
 s'rhat is, that no nation as 8 gov- ernment should borrow or no gov- ernment lend and nations should discourage their citizens from bor-
 rowing or lending unless this
 money is to be devoted to pfoduc- tive enterprise.
 "Out of the wealth and the high CT standards of living created from enterprise itself must come the ability to repay the capital to the
 borrowing country. Any other course of action creates obligations Impossible Of repayment except by a direct subtraction from the standards of living of the borrow ing country and the imperishment of its people.
 "In fact, If this principle could be adopted between nations of the world--that is, if nations would do away with the lending Of money for the balancing of budgets for purposes of military equipment or war purposes, or even that type of public works which does not bring some direct or indirect productive return--a great number of bless ing would follow to the entire world.
 There could be no question as to the ability to repay; with this increasing security capital would become steadily cheaper, the dan- gers to national and individual in- dependence in attempts of the lender to collect his defaulted debts would be avoided; there would be definite increase in the standard of living and the comfort and pros- perity of the borrower.
 There could be no greater step taken in the prevention of war it.
 self. This is perhaps little fur
 ther toward the millennium than our practical world has reached, and do not propose that these are
 matters than can be regulated by
 law or treaty. They are matters that can be regulated solely by the commercial and financial sentiment of each of our countries; and if
 this body may be able to develop the firm convcition, develop the un- derstandtng that the financial be built upon the primary founda- sASA sAsaS Al0ASy tkQu6kGEIGu ID 1UI productive purposes, it will have
 contributed to the future of the
 western hemisphere in q degree sell
 dom open to a conference of this character"
 repeat this to-day, because had 1t been followed during these past i've years our problems thoughout
 the world would be far different, our difficulties infinitely less.
 I have learned with particular interest and qualification that by far the greater number of those in attendance at this conference are
 not governmental delegates, but
 representatives of the commercial and financial establishments of the
 several American republics. Par
 ticularly do we in the United States
 hold to the theory that commer- cial enterprise, except as rare
 emergency action, is essentially a
 private undertaking, and that the
 sole function of government is to
 bring about a condition of affairs
 favorable to the beneficial develop
 ment of private enterprise. It is the failure to comprehend this
 conception of the relation between
 the function of government and the
 function Of private enterprise that sometimes leads the thoughtless to assume the existence of an interna- tional indifference which does not in fact exist.
 The larger significance of your
 meeting is attested by the fact that at stated intervals the accredited
 representatives of the government and of the commercial organization of this continent come together with view to interchange of ex- perience and fostering that mutual
 confidence without which the de- veiopment of international com
 merce is impossible. Your work possesses a significance far beyond
 the concrete problems with which you will have to deal.
 Permit me in closing to combine
 with my welcome the confident ex-
 pectation that your deliberations
 will rebound to the benef1t of all the nations of this continent.