Evening star., 1945-07-21
Breton Vote Shows
| US. Is WorId-Minded
Writer Contrasts Action on Bill
With 1919 Isolation Attitude

By David Laierence

BY Davfd Laurence
If anything could dramatic the fact
that the United States today Is world
minded and cooperative, as contrasted
with its 1919 attitude of isolation, 1t is
the overwhelming vote just cast by
both houses of Congress adhering to
the Breton Woods agreement.
That agreement, in which the prin-
cipal nations of the world joined. means
the creation of a huge stabilization
fund and world bank involving about
$4,000 100000 in capital funds, of which
the United States contributes about
e-third.
The basic purpose is to stabilize cur
rencies and underwrite loans for COM
merce and trade in the postwar era.
The same legislation which Congress
passed to authorize American partici-
patton in these two financial undertake
ings wipes off the statute books the
Johnson Act, sponsored by Senator
Hiram johnson of California. That
law, passed after the close of the last
war, forbade the making Of private
loans to any countries which had. de-
faulted on World War debts. 1t, was
ignored in the lease-lend legislation in
1940 insofar as lending by our Govern
ment to other governments is concerned.
But the presence of the johnson Act
was a barrier to restoration of trade
and financial relations, so Congress,
without much debate, eliminated it.
xn.~l,. T,uo xUax.
The Breton Woods proposals required
congressional action because large sums
were to be appropriated. Only ma
jority vote was necessary, but it is also
to be remembered that majority vote
can repeal the statute and discontinue
further appropriations in the event that
the bank or the stabilization fund
doesn't work out as planned.
Senator Robert Taft of Ohio and
group of other Republicans pointed out
some plain defects in the setup and
there was considerable concurrence in
the Senate with the arguments ad-
vanced, but there was an almost equal
number of Republicans who felt that
worldwide reconstruction was too i'm
portant to be delayed by the calling
of another international conference to
revise the Breton Woods agreement.
What the legislation indicates to all
the world is that the United States has
a deep interest in reconstruction and is
willing to put up large sums to see it
through. If some of the fears expressed
by Mr.. Taft materialize, majority Of
Congress can always express itself on
the point and modify the extent OF
further participation by the United
States. There are, of course, other
checks on the efficient use of the money,
such as the character and ability of
the American representatives on the
stabilization fund and the bank.
Six billion dollars is a lot of money
to be authorizing for the use OF world
commerce and trade and financial sta
bilization, but it is confidently expected
by the United States that this will not
prove an expenditure but recoverable
| loan and that the losses will not be
extensive. This is based on the SUPPOSE
ton that political stability accompanies
ICCOIloOl uCIIOI1s ~ may NCA
be that the latter is impossible without
the former. But in any event the prin-
cipal governments of the world have de-
cided that they will not take the re.
sponsibility for stimulating chaotic po-
litical conditions through unsettled eco.
nomic conditions, and hence the sup-
port given by Congress to the Breton
| Woods proposals.
TimelineSs of Plan.
The Treasury Department has from
the beginning maintained an effective
| propaganda to influence Congress to
pass the legislation, but even these
| efforts would have been futile if there
| had not been a certain timeliness in
| the presentation of the whole Breton
| Woods plan 1t comes at a moment
| when the peoples of the world are
/ cropping for some way to prevent more
war in the future. If by the expendi-
| ture-even the grant-of $4,000, 900 900
the world finds the transition from war
to permanent peace bridged successful
| ", there is a disposition to vote such
funds. With war increasing the ma
tional debt to something like $500, 0,000,-
100000, there is little tendency on the
part of the American people to be-
grudge the risking of $4,000, 900 900.
The critics of the plan say that
America will find herself more heavily
involved financially in the end and that
more restrictions should have been
placed on the lending of the money,
One thing is clear-the plan is being
accepted with only slight notifications
of the agreement which IS nations
signed The responsibility for making
| the plan work is not wholly that Of
! America, but If America had failed at
this juneture to lend her capital as she
emerges from the European war still
the richest nation in the world, the
responsibility for economic chaos would
most certainly have been placed en-
tirely on America.
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