Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-09
No Debt Cancellation.

Reviewing terSely over the radio last
night the history OF the intergoSern-
mental debt moratorium. Acting Secre-
tary Of State Castle seized q useful OPP
portunity to explode certain theories
which have obtained currency regarding
the future course Of events. mad
vertently Mr.. Castle himself was the
cause of deductions now shown to be
without foundation. In q casual state
ment to the press ON Tuesday the Act
ing Secretary said that the President,
in casting about for q plan to help
Germany. had considered the possible
ity OF re-examining the nations ca
pacity to pay.
The thought at the back Of Mr.. Hoo
ver's head, according to Mr.. Castle. was
to see whether reparations and debts
should be scaled down in accordance
with the world depression. Immediately
there arose from this observation the
suggestion that cancellation. apparently
once having been in the wind at the
White House, is obviously something
that must be accounted q serious flu
ture possibility in the same high
quarter.
The Acting Secretary. who speaks
with firSt-hand authority because he
was in the thick Of the late negotia-
tons. sets at rest such fears as may
exist on the cancellation score. At no
time. he says. was the President think
ing Of any permanent revision Of the
foreign debt settlements nor OF any con-
tract OF which We are not a party q. e..
reparations)." Mr.. HooSer's plan was
purely and simply to give Germany "A
years breathing space. in which the
recuperative forces Of the world could
make headway." The President was
actuated only by a desire to bring about
relief of the temporary conditions
created by worldwide depression"
Capticus critics Of Mr. Hoovers mo-
tives and procedure will perhaps con-
TIME to derive malicious satisfaction
from the disclosure that at one time he
was weighing all aspects of the inter-
governmental debt problem, including
Determination OF capacity to pay. The
President would be q far less thorough
student Of affairs than everybody knows
him to be If he had not inspected every
conceivable facet Of the colossal prob
lem with which he was tussling Having
done so. he came to the conclusion that
a temporary suspension of payments
was the. only feasible measure of relief
on the horizon. In his statement of
June 20, Mr. Hoover left not the slight
est doubt that what he was about to
propose had no relation whatsoever to
cancellation. A period Of grace, not q
receipt In full, was the Alpha and
Omega Of the Presidents plan. The
world knows today. from Mr.. Castles
clarifying statement, that this. and this
only, is within Mr.. Hoover's intent.
Secretary Mellon, to whom history
is bound to award the lions share of
credit for the actual termination of sue
cessful negotiations at Paris, is quoted
as having said, when Partisan reporters
asked If the debt accord was the last
word in the moratorium incident,
There is no last wcrd" What Mr.
Mellon means by that Characteristic cpl
gram is that world economics are too
obviously in a state of nux to permit
the door to be cl3sed on all and sundry
additional schemes OF amelioration. 1t
may turn out that one good breathing
spell deserves another. But even II
another comes, in 1882. or in 1898, It
will not necessarily mean that cancella-
ton Is on the way, or even in sight.
Acting Secretary of State Castles
advice deserves the attention of the
American people. He urges them to
take up the work OF rehabilitation, In
itiated by the leadership CT President
Hoover, lin a spirit of courageous opti-
mism." II the country buckles down to
that sll-suffieient task of the present,
the future may safely be left to take
care OF itself.