Evening star., 1931-12-20
Some Economists Declare
u. S. Has Already Forgiven
43 Per Cent of Claims.
OTHERS SEE COLLECTION
OF $1.83 ON EACH DOLLAR
Say Obligations to This Country
Are Now Totaled at 20
Billions.
BY DR.. MAX WINKLER.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, December 19.-Much
loose talk has been handed out to the
American public in regard to the debts
arising out Of the war. Despite the out
bursts of certain economists, these relics
of the conflict, the greatest and costliest
in history. constitute the principal i'm
pedlmentS to an early rehabilitation of
world economic conditions.
The interallied debts aggregated
somewhat more than $4,000, 900 900,
and there are two ways of considering
this Indebtedness as it stands today.
There are those who contend that in
the so-called debt-funding agreements
the United States already has forgiven
the debtors 43 per cent of what they
owed and that this has been more than
liberal
Those taking this view point out that
the Treasury Department now capital
ICES this sum of the agreements at 4la
per cent, and obtains in this manner a
present value of about s7,000.000 900.
In other words. the debtors will pay to
the United States only about 81 cents
for every dollar owed
Viewpoints Differ.
But there are number of economists
who contend that these figures are
purely imaginary and do not give the
actual amount of money that will be
paid. These men figure that the total
money scheduled to be paid to the
United States amounts to more than
s22 ,0000 0000 900. or s183 for every dol
lar the former allies Of the United
States owe. They point out that this
sum includes all the payments that will
"a ;r1ta
thereon up to the time the debt is dis
charged.
Following the Napoleonic Wars, Great
Britain. which during the many years
OF conflict against the despotiSm of the
Corsican played a role similar to that
now being played by the United States.
decided that it would be to the interest
of all to cancel debts arising from the
wars. This was not an altogether altru-
lstic move on the part of Great Britain.
1t was done for selfish reasons. as sub
sequent events so amply proved.
The United States is still novice in
the realm of international finance.
Many citizens have not as yet learned
to differentiate between a commercial
obligation and debt Of political origin
debt Is debt and has to be paid.
The consequences of such an attitude
DO not apparently concern them. They
are constantly trying to solve the many
and complex economic problems which
face them. They are establishing
financial institutions of all sorts and
categories and inclined to ignore the
chaos abroad
These men declare this chaos abroad
does not concern the United States.
Events in the last two years have ap-
parently taught them little. Was no.
the crisis in the United States pre-
cipitated by the HAIRY failure in Great
Britain in the Summer Of 1929? Was
not the situation aggravated by the COL
lapse of the Bodencredit- -Anstalt in
Vienna, the bank failures in Germany,
the banking difficulties in the Scan
dinavian countries, the collapse of the
Credit Anstalt in Austria and the clos
ing of the Darmstaedter and Dresdner
Banks in Germany?
In spite of all these warnings, there
men persist in clinging to the opinion
that Americas business with the rest
of the world constitutes only 10 per
cent of the countrys total productivity
Apparently they lose sight of the fact
that it Is always the last 10 per cent
which indicates whether business is
conducted at profit or at loss
Foreign Trade.
The head of the American Fedora
tion of Labor pointed out recently that
it is merely wasted effort to go after
foreign commerce. That this view is
totally untenable may be gathered from
the fact that Americas prosperity was
greatest at a time when her foreign
! trade was expanding, and that the crisis
is severest when foreign commerce has
suffered a pronounced shrinkage.
The following should be borne in
mind by these men, popularity called
isolationists: AS result of the war, the
demand for American products was
very considerable. In order to meet it
the country's productive machinery had
to be built up to maximum capacity. If
no outlet for this excess production is
secured, the capacity must needs be re-
duced and remain at such reduced levels.
This in turn, means constant unem-
ployment
Thus If the United States wishes to
adopt a policy of aloofness and work
out her economic salvation without Civ
, ing a thought to what becomes of the
rest of the world. she might as we'll
make up her mind that she will have
to find solution to a recurring unem-
ployment problem. What this means
the country has had occasion to learn
| in the past two years.
! (Copyright 1881, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Incl