The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1933-10-19

ministratien with club to hold over
/ labor. The result Is that labor has
not been such good partner My In
| quiries have brought about the same
response generally. namely. that this
thing had to be a three-horse team.
Labor has baked. Business has been
made the goat. 1t has been unjusti-
| fiably stubborn I'm lot of cases, but
all of the load. Labor leaders cannot
be blamed for wanting to unionize ev-
cry shop. for that is their bread and
butter. But from what hear. the M
dercurrent of feeling among business
leaders, labor may suffer setback.
because 1t is attempting to exact too
great a tribute under such trying
times.
The presence in Washington of Sir
Frederick Leith-Ross as the represent
alive of the British
Debts government to talk
I'm A oo.r about revision Of the
governments $4,000
100000 debt to the United States has
brought the debt question TO front once
again. Sir Frederick has come with
a commission to see how much can be
Topped off and how a refunding can
be arranged so that his government
will find payments easier during these
times OF stress. Actually. what the
British want to do Is gain an eventual
cancellation of the debt and In this
smove they are receiving no small
amount of encouragement from the
other debtor nations whose combined
obligations to the United States are ap-
proximately $6,5OO,0O0,OOO. 1t is obvi-
GUS, of course, that II the United
States grants concessions to the Brit
ish. 1t will have to do something for
the others Hence. they are all root
Ing for the British team to win.
The negotiations for the United
States are In the hands OF Dean
Acheson. youthful undersecretary OF
the treasury, but he has been In con-
stant touch with President Roosevelt
so that after all. the Chief Executive
Is guiding the foreign debt policy. Con-
versations with representatives OF for
eign governments In the nature OF
things have to be carried on more or
less confidentially. and the current
meetings are no exception. Besides,
the subject In detail is one of highly
technical character. The public as a
whole, however, should be vitality In
terested In the net result, for It sim
mers down to a question OF taxation
on the American people II the for
elgn nations pay back the money the
United States loaned them to help out
In the World war. just that amount
OF money will not have to be raised by
taxation OF American citizens. II they |
do not pay, the American people will
have to make 1t up. There is no al I
tentative.
Then, there Is the trade angle Of the
debt question. Our nation must ex-
port goods. There
Inc Trade must be cotton and
ArCIe wheat and corn and
flour, and hundreds
upon hundreds OF different kinds of
manufactured goods shipped out of the
country. Unless these exports are
maintained, our own producing ca
pacity must be chttailed and when 1t
Is curtailed, we have unemployment.
1t has been argued BY the limited num-
Der Of outright cancellationists-tho
who would wipe the debts off of the
books and forget about them-that so
long as those debtor nations have to
tax their own people to pay back their
wartime borrowings, those people are
In no position to buy our surplus. 1t
Is simply that they do not have enough
money to do both. They argue further
that II we can export In normal guam
titles, our Industries will be prosper
GUS, and If they are prosperous. they
do not object to paying the necessary
amount OF taxes to pay off the bonds
our government sold In borrowing
money to loan to Europe.
From these two views Of the debt
problem. II seems to me 1t is plain how
painfully close to all OF rs 1t is, though
apparently a thing of remote conse-
quence to the rank and file. To show
how really close 1t Is. however 1t Is
necessary only to mention that presI-
dent Roosevelt is going to accept no
for revision Of the British, or
any other, debt that will cause
and drag-out fight In con-
gress. He will not risk such course
He knows that congress
Is unalterably opposed to cancellation
and that there is large and powerful
group who viii resist any reduction.
sbo foet hnf ~, |