Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-05-31
WE'RE BLAMED A

By a system of specious and roundabout reasoning
Owen D. Young seems to have convinced himself that
Uncle Sam is responsible for all of the ills with which the
world has been visited during the past few years. 1t is all
because Uncle Sam has insisted in collecting the war
debts Gin gold"t that dire depression and economic chaos
have descended upon the world, according to the views
of Mr.. Young as expressed in newspaper accounts of an
address delivered recently to the Association of Junior
Leagues of America. The arguments may have great
weight with the internationalists, but they will not go
far with the average American who has paid any atten-
ton to the history of the world during the past few years.
In the first place it is generally realized by all persons
not carried away by the general international hysteria
that the war debts have played a small part, if any, in the
worldwide depression and collapse of international trade.
The seeds for the depression were sown in the World
war. There IS nothing new in this. Similar conditions
have followed every great warin the history of the world,
whenever a tremendous increase in production of basic
commodities has been accompanied or followed by an era
Of false prosperity and speculation.
The collapse Of world trade was due not to tariffs but.
to the wartime increase of production in the countries
which produce basic commodities and manufactured
goods. The tariff increases came as a result when each
nation tried to protect itself from the excess production
of competitor nations.
The war debts themselves have played but a small part
IN the drama of economic dissolution. Certainly no nation
which owes Uncle Sam money has been cast down by the
amount of gold it has transferred to Uncle Sam in the
payment of wa debt claims. The sum in each instance
Ao ASPiCoOhcO0 poyhChb VII Ony q dCllO IL Tie LOtdI
amount of the debt owed by such nation to the United
States.
France refused to pay us $19,0O0,0OO due in December,
1892, and yet France has a greater amount Of the worlds
gold per capita than any other nation. France could pay
more easily now than in December because the deprecia-
ton of the dollar abroad has reduced the amount which
France would have to pay in gold, to something like $17,-
100000. Yet hints have been thrown out that France
might pay this sum in order to get the United States into
q "security pact 1t is evident therefore that France
might be able to use her gold for political purposes but
not for business transactions and the satisfying of legiti-
mately contracted debt.
We were told when Great Britain paid the December
debt instalment that the transfer of so much gold would
ruin her. Yet today England has a greater gold stock on
hand than it has ever had in history, and can benefit the
same as France in the depreciation of the dollar abroad,
by getting another reduction of the payments.
The sums required for these payments represent only
& small percentage of what these nations spend each year
on their preparation for new wars, in which they would
like to have Uncle Sam engage when the time comes. Yet
Mr.. Young seems conveniently to forget these facts when
he blames Uncle Sam for the world depression because
our government insists that we ought to have at least a
little payment on account.