The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-07-10
MONDAY. July 10. 1888
NEW DEAL IN FOREIGN POLICY
a sCRIPPs-HoWARD NEWsPAPER

NEW DEAL in FORElGN POLlC1
TINE new deal under Mr.. Roosevelt is,
fortunately not to be limited to domestic
policy. Our President seems to be as clever
and realistic in foreign policy as in domestic
attitudes
He will be accused by some of our
professional internaSonalists, Francophiles,
and Anglomaniacs of being a narrow
nationalist. But his attitude, as exhibited in
connection with the London economic confer
ence has not been selfish natonalism 1t is
nothing more than elementary common sense
and the determination to be guided by actual
facts rather than by vacuous sentimentality.
Without taking any superior or self
righteous attitude, the plain historical fact is
that the United States has been played for the
great international sucker for the last
seventeen years. All that Mr.. Roosevelt has
done is to serve notice that this humiliating
and expensive phase of our international
policy is ended, so long as he is our chief
executive.
A few historical facts would be relevant
here. In January 1916, the entente had
exhausted its credit with private bankers in
the United States Indeed, it had overdrawn
its account by some $4500000OO.
It's only hope was to pass the buck to Uncle
Sam and put the load on the United States
treasury BY the aid of American bankers and
the imbecility of the Germans in declaring the
unrestricted submarine warfare the allies were
able to accomplish their purpose and put the
United States into the World war.
Then followed the war loans of SILL
500OOO0OO and our own huge expenditures in
the war to advance the entente war aims The
latter amounted close to 100000, 100000 in
ultimate cost to our country.
In spite of the fact that the secret treaties
soon showed conclusively that the real war
aims of the entente were not those on the
basis Of which it had sold the war to U.S. we
refunded the war debts and Cancelled 512 per
cent Of the principal sum. We, further made
loans to Germany which the latter used in
part to pay reparaticns to the allies.
The result of that generosity was to be
called country of Shylocks and the demand
to cancel the rest of the war debts when the
entente was forced by Germany's economic
collapse to cancel, at Lausanne, most of the
remaining reparations payments
We have been blamed for the economic COL
lapse Of the world when actually the war debt
payments have played no significant part in
the economy of the countries involved and
their expenditures have made war debt pay
ments seem pin money.
We have been assigned responsibility for
forcing Britain off the gold standard, when
in reality she was in part forced off by the
gambling in international exchange carried on
by ner ally, France, and in part abandoned it
voluntarily in the hope of helping her foreign
trade
France now squawks because she gambled
in the international exchange market and
gathered in great heaps of gold, in the hope
of sitting astride the financial world She
bought large quantities of dollars with the
expectation of making a large profit at the
expense of the United States
Now she squeals when the United States
plays a clever hand and abandonS the gold
standard and let's the dollar drop But we
will allow no more than a so per cent maxi
mum fall in the value of the dollar while in
1926 France stabilized the franc at one-ffth
of its 1914 value. She was not then solicitous
about Americans who had bought francs at
par.
The European states, III sabotagng the
London conference are like business men who
get involved in a gambling quarrel while their
factories, banks and ships burn down. They
get indignant because their gambling profits
have been cut down in the interest of the
economic welfare of the world
If internationaliSm does not ultimately
prevail, the world will be the loser. But it is
high time to recognize that Europeans have
been stalking in the sleeps clothes of inter-
nationaliSm while actually operating as the
wolves of nationalism.
We have been fed the rhetoric of inter-
nationalism while Europe has enjoyed the sub
stance Of nationalism.
Even the League of Nations has remained
essentially league of victors committed to
the enforcement of the Versailles system.
In short We have been the suckers who
have subscribed to internationalism and lost
our shirts. All we have now done is finally
to get out of the fog of wartime dreams and
acs realty,
When Europe really gets ready for inter-
nationalism. We doubtless shall be ready to
cooperate.