Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-01-08
ITO Billions
Called Easy
To Get--Now
hpeu5 Once Painted
a. New-DeaI Total
BY PAUL MALLON

BY PAUL MALLON
WASHINGTON, Jan. S
" Economists swooncd when.
Nh Roo~oyClts New Deal relief
debt reached the giddv total of
NinOOu000uu0 year on so
back None fickcrcd a whISkcr
ii hIs war program to nearly
trrblc u a. $4,000 100000
War has brought wholly
changed financial circumstances
10 the treasury II was one
thing 10 gel "a financially de-
pressed nation 10 pay for what
seemed 10 some an unuStliicd
accumulation OF debt years and
a wholly different matter TO
rally patriotic support m an
outraged country for about
financing
There ar430OO000o families
in the United States If each
family could purchase about
81 $50 OF defense bonds on an
average the needed $4,000
100000 Of our new debt would
be- financed 1t is now around
$50 600 GOO 600 Some families
would -he- ablC 10 take far less
but others might make up the
deficit 10y purchasing more.
I'VE treasury has foolIShly put
1 a So 80 limit ON each IN
diNdualS annual purchase. but
il Is possible 10 buy one such
bond for each member of the
family husband. wife. son
daughter and perhaps the
treasury Will soon awaken and
remove the limit
With the national income
nearing the $4,000 100000
mark il is apparent S4O00O000
600 of additional debt can be
raised one way or another with
out much difficulty
Such a large debt does not
forecast economic disaster, as It
might have when our struggling
uncertain national income was
around S70,OOOOO0000 a few
years back
4 IL IT means now is that the
~ treasury will have to raise
about 81. 500,000,000 a year here
after To pay interest The deb,
itself may never be paid of in
any future foreSeeable II Will
merely be refinanced and car
ried indefinitely.
All the treasury will have 10
worry about therefore, IS rails
ING the annual interest. That
means in effect, the future llV-
ing standard of this country
can never he permitted to slip
back into the kind of depreS-
sion we had before, else the
treasury will have difficulty
raising interest money.
Such a debt imposes q greater
obligation on government to keep
this country prosperous in the
postwar period when world
markets will be reopened.
THERE is every likelihood
Il that Russia Will be in war
with Japan on the Far Eastern
front in the spring, Such a con-
flict would relieve the Jap pres
sure on Singapore. if the British
can hold out that long in Ma
laya
The natural antagonlSm of Rus
STA and Japan dates back long be-
fore this war in ancient enmity.
Only the necessities OF Red con-
Centration of every effort
against Hitler has prevented re-
sumption of their unondcd war.
SOONER than that may come
- favorable action against the
JapS IN China They Sncaked
out most of their air force for
use in their Malayan and Philip
pine campaigns. As a result they
can no longer scout the posi-
tons Of the Chinese army.
As at ChangSha. the Chinese
VIII be able 10 muster their
strength at various points unde-
tected.
The Japs Sun have over
100000 men IN China proper.
and possibly 400 600 on The
Siberian frontier Othcy recently
withdrew 100000 from there
THE British tried to get the
Chinese 10 60 after Chang
Sha when Hongkong was be-
Sleged IN the hope that II would
relieve Jap pressure on the
British stronghold The Chinese
replied IN effect that they would
be slaughtered because they
were inferior IN equipment and
air strength
Yet when the Jap> finally
withdrew troops from Chang
sha 10 finish their HongkonC
drive The Chinese rushed IN and
trapped the remaining force
10000 they say
4 JOINT BrinSh-ChIrr>p NM