Evening star., 1933-02-02
To Swap or Not to Swap.

To swap or not to SWap-tnat Is the
question which, If the chancellor Of the
British eXchequer is the voice Of his
government, Great Britain has already
decided in the negative, as far as forth
coming debt conversations at Washing
ton are concerned. Mr.. Neville Cham
berlain, addressing American news
paper correspondents in London yes
terday, spoke with almost disconcert-
ing frankness. II deprecate," he said,
the suggestion that the approaching
negotiations should be regarded as q
big swapping deal" The watchdog of
his majesty's treasury was, of course,
fitting at the suggestion" originating
in this unreasonable land that if John
Bull comes to Washington next month,
cap in hand and begging debt favors,
Uncle Sam. in the coldly calculating
spirit in which contemporary Europe
has come to envision him, will have the
temerity to demand a certain quid
pro quo.
It is not always that Senator Borah
is the voice Of the American people,
In either foreign or domestic affairs,
but he indubitably speaks their lam
guage when he declares that If Mr..
Chamberlains outgivings mean British
unwillingness to consider anything but
debts in Washington, then we should
save both time and expense and call of
the conference" Other members of the
Senate voice the same fortnight view.
If it were called upon to do so, the
entire country would echo 1t. The Brit
ish government will inhabit a fools
paradise If 1t deludes itself to the con-
trary.
The ways of diplomacy sometimes
pass understanding. Our British cousins
are by no means the least adept in
pursuing them. Already the thought
finds expression among international
statecraftsmen that London may have
adopted the policy Of appearing stern
and uncompromising now, in order that
any British recession, however slight
may seem the greater if made at Wash
ington a few weeks hence. Mr.. Cham
berlain as good as comedies that debt
revision alone will not produce that
general economic stabilization in which
Britain, America and the whole world
are deeply concerned. Speaking Of the
gold standard in the same breath with
his no-swapping fantasy, the chancellor
Of the exchequer announces that until
ntergovernmental debts have beer
cleared away, artificial trade barriers
lowered. the maldistribution Of gole
modified and the worlds pressing po'
litical problems are on the way to
settlement, the pound sterling cannot
be put back on its yellow metal basis
It is a sententious presentation OF
the economic crisis that is thus outlined
by Mr.. Chamberlain. 1t must almost
precisely approximate the program
which the United States Government
IS President-elect Roosevelt can not
nave IdlleQ tO lllIAnIdtC w Oh @SoAAoAS
Lindsay at Warm Springs-intends to
project for Anglo-American discussion
The British might as well understand
now as later-they pride themselves on
their penchant for plain speaking and
their receptivity for candor from tht
other fellow-that the American people
are not much interested in having
Hamlet enacted on the Potomac next
month, with the melancholy Dane left
entirely out Of the cast.
If the debt discussion does not sci
in and have its whole being in an
atmosphere of reciprocity, comprehend
ing obvious essentials, it is doomed
and deserves to be doomed, to become
a wholly abortive gesture, leaving in Its
wake, as such utilities frequently do
wave of mutual Ill will that English
speaking craftsmanship must bend
every ounce of its energy to avert.