Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-24
American Policy to Abstain From Share
In Management of World Bank at Basel

move parallel in Eastern Europe with
French governmental political aims.
The situation thereupon has a strange
double twist. The United States recoils
from European central bank finance
through a fear of politics. France
plunges into European central bank
finance in order in large part to promote
politics. France and the United States,
the worlds two great possesSors Of gold,
stand forth at the opposite poles of po-
ltical and economic philosophy regard
ing the international use of gold.
In these circumstances the most ire
mendous interest attaches to the recent
return here Of Mr.. Charles Dewey, for
merly Assistant Secretary of the United
States Treasury, from three years of
service abroad as financial adviser to
the government Of Poland. Mr. Dewey
holds that American finance has an
enormous opportunity in Eastern Europe
in the nine countries already mentioned
He points out that those countries con-
tain some 90,000,00 people Of the white
race who have 1t in them within the
next few decades to make startling adj
vances in their standards of living.
Overwhelmingly agricultural, they con-
st1tute, in his view, q momentously ex-
panding market for properly financed
American export trade. He maintains
that prime reason why they would
especially welcome American financing
Is that American dollars and American
goods exported to them would not be
suspected by them OF having any Amer
ican political governmental designs.
This last argument of Mr.. Dewey's Is
in logical line with the behavior of the
Turkish government in planning now to
send an economic mission to the United
states. The Turks do not hesitate to
reveal their feeling that financial re-
lations with the United States are pref
cradle to financial relations with the
Western European powers precisely be-
cause the United States has not in
volved itself In European political ma
neuvers.
The open expression Of such senti-
mentS by the Turks is accompanied by
the quiet private expression of similar
sentiments among Eastern Europeans
as reported to Washington by our diplo-
matte observers abroad. Eastern Europe
Is most certainly increasingly FESTIVE
under what it often feels to be undue
French political influence. In numer-
Gus influential Eastern European sec
tons OF opinion there is today an out
right impulse actually to shake France
OF and to plunge into the customs
union which Germany has offered, not
alone to Austria, but to all neighboring
countries. 1t would seem to be the fate
OF France to be obliged to send more
and more money into Eastern Europe in
order to keep its Eastern European po-
htical Notifications standing.
X \ \
1t would be today within the power Of
American finance to supplant French
finance in Eastern Europe If our pri-
vate bankers chose to do it. Some of
them are debating doing it. They are
unlikely to get any governmental geS-
ture from Washington encouraging or
sanctioning them in any such project.
Our Government holds to the view that
our economic destiny abroad is in fact
not retarded but furthered and ulti-
mately solidly safeguarded by our very
refusal to back it with political govern
mental action.
(Copyrigh6, 1919