The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1939-01-19

WASHINGTON-Congress views
with a fishy eye the idea SO popular
in the treasury department, and
with exporters, for large loans to
the various Latin-Ameriean coun-
tries. Of course there IS the occa-
sional member from a district
where factories are clamoring for
the orders it is expected such loans
would aid. But for the most part
what happened to similar loans,
made for the same trade-encourag-
ing purpose, is still green in the
memory of the senators or repre-
sentatives themselves, or their con-
stituents.
y O. course the present situation IS
complicated by the supposed de-
signs of Hitler and Mussolini on
Latin America But so difficult IS
any intelligent solution of this ques-
ton of loans that it might be seri-
ously argued it would be far better,
not onlyvfor Latin-America, but for
the United States, If instead of cali
ing these proposed credits loans
we would actually call them gifts :
to start with
1t sometimes happens that a hu-
man being or nation is grateful
for a gift. It's not thing that can
be counted upon, either in human
or national relationships, but it does
happen once in while. Certainly
it never has the opposite effect.
But loans! They simply are never
appreciated. Occasionally, in the
years that followed the war, Ameri-
can travellers in Europe discovered
some gratitude dating back to the
American relief, which was purely
gratuitous. But has anyone ever re-
ported any friendly feeling because
lof the billions the United States
loaned the stricken European ma
tons after the Armistice? Which, by
the way, adds up to just little less
than the totals of all debts to the
United States by those governments
after the readjustment downward of
their debts in the settlement
agreements worked out while Calvin
Coolidge was President. So that the
so-called war loans" were gift
after all, even legally.
K0rld Ones Us More Than
TmeIue Billion Dollars
But consider the problem of fur
Their loans to Latin America, and
what will come later. 1t may be
said that the money will never leave
this country. Only the goods that
the money thus loaned" will buy
That may be true. But is any per
manent good accomplished by sell
ing goods for which one will proba
bly, never be paid? Especially if The
debt thus accumulated promises Il
be a grievance more calculated L
make hard feeling few year!
hence-as in the case of the debt!
Of the Allies to the United States
IMAM 10 be appreclatedY
And how else could the transac
tons terminate? Already the Worle
owes the United States more thar
IL billion dollars, of which some I
billion is owed by Latin America
Assuming a willingness to pay, how
is Latin America going to do it?
What is she going to use for money?
Gold? We don't want any more
even if Latin America had it to pay
or might accumulate it some years
hence. Our government has nearly
fourteen and half billion dollars
worth of gold now, and no one is
sure what it is worth to us, or wha
its value would be if the only biz
buyer in the world, Uncle Sam, sud
denly stopped bidding $35 an ounce
for it.
The only way Latin America cal
pay is with goods a. services Blu
those must be goods OF. services il
excess Of goods and services which
the United States sells to Latin
America.
Various Theories as 10
What Caused Depression
1t is very popular, among anna