Evening star., 1932-08-07
Borah's Debt Proposal Unacceptable
To Europe, Which Refuses to Disarm

| Germany correspondingly declines, re-
duction of military establishments Is
| bound to follow, but not otherwise.
In the end war debts, like reparations,
will be abolished because they are un-
collectable. No one OF those who ad-
vocate a policy of collection has ever
suggested any practical way of getting
| paid. There have, to be sure, been sug-
| gestionS of the acceptance of the Car
ribean Islands In part payment. But
| the inhabitants of the British and
French islands are citizens of Britain
| and France. To sell them to the United
States against their opposition, which
would be assured, would be to indulge
In a form Of slave trading. And in
| addition it would be to create a dan
gerous precedent, for on the sen1c E1sts
| a bankrupt United States night one
day be asked to transfer Portland or
Boston to Canada to meet a future
indebtedness.
1t is obviously unjust and unreaSon-
able to expect the United States to give
up s11 900 0000 of war debts which
could be paid to contribute to the
economic prosperity or political sta
bility of countries, that were our as
sociates during the war. And as long
DIS LIlC QuCoIlOiI VI 0CDbo Hdo AAoNlAGoOA
on that Christmas tree basis American
| opposition vas inevitable and warranted.
But today the problem is presented in
a different form, as Bcrah has recog-
hized. It is a question Of exchanging
bad debts for good or even fair prospects
Of revival of prosperity. The money
| is gone and will not come back. And,
Of course, no money passed in the first
| instance, but only goods. If we chose,
We could still be paid in goods.
| We can't make Europe pay nor can
! we persuade it to disarm because it
| does not pay. The best we can do is
to agree to the liquidation of war debts
| for whatever price Europe offers and
| hope to take our reward in the revival
of trade that may follow when all the
obstacles to the free operation Of the
ordinary laws of international trade and
commerce are removed. The alternative
Is to force Europe to repudiate by re-
jecting an offer of settlement.
On the other hand, as I said several
weeks ago, there is no earthly reason
to force the pace. European statesmen
are now considering the proposal which
they will eventually make. new con-
ference called after Lausanne, Geneva
and Ottawa, with all the pending prob
lens in the world put on the agenda,
will almost certainly add to the con-
fusion and not contribute to progress
I OF course, to consider the problem of
economic recovery with war debts left
out Of account is absurd, as Borah
points out. But why conference when
the action of American representatives
will inevitably be Influenced by the
considerations of a presidential cap-
paign, and the President himself will
be compelled to disguise his own con-
victionS rather than act on them?
1t is when the European debtors have
made their proposal to Washington and
action has been had upon that proposal
that the time will be propitious for an
international prosperity conference-a1-
ways. however, on the assumption that
the European proposal is accepted. If
not, then the conference itself would be
I an abSurdity and postponement would
be inevitable until such time as the
mess is cleared up. Meantime, what
ever success meets Borah'S attempt to
sell the idea Of debt liquidation in re-
turn for disarmament to the American
people, he is doomed in the end to
find that he has proposed a bargain
which will prove unacceptable to Euro
pean countries And the proof of this
fact is disclosed in results-or lack of
results-of the recent Arms Conference
at Geneva.
(oopyright. Is32)