The midland journal., 1945-09-14
News ~,
BEHINfgg|||||||Z||||g'@|l|, |Z|@ 60, ||||'||
THENE|I|&|IlSI||IE5|1 |I||IlI||I5
n n.vw MAvS~x. S
Released by western Newspaper union
FUTURE OF LEND-LEASE
NOW HELD IN DOUBT
By PAUL MALLoN ~

WASHINGTON. - Shenanigans
are starting for the dispensing Of
credit-and- loan billions abroad to re-
place lend-lease. Mr.. Truman an
nounced the good news about the
let-down in lend-lease spending, and
Mr.. Crowley simultaneously took the
credit to taxpayers for the news
that Britain, Russia, France, China
and the rest of the world were COM
ing in with their hands out to him
now. Every news reader Is naturally
asking himself the question what
kind of bargain did we get, or are
we going to get? It should be good
bargain because the rest of the
world is politically homeopathic
| with us in certain glaring examples
Of foreign policies, but must have
our financial help.
The answer Is nowhere apparent
yet, in front Of or behind the news,
but some doubtful aspects are dis
cernible to those in the financial
hnow-how.
Take Britain first, the biggest and
most-easily-seen case. An American
letter to business men, purporting to
carry official British viewpoint (al-
though 1t does not always say SOY
justifies large loans to London on
the ground that the proposed So
,cialism for the British mines and
transport (their purchase by the
government) is to be financed by
seH-liquidating bonds so we ma
turally can have no interest In them.
That Is the kind Of propaganda to
appeal to the American business
mind self liquidating loans are
sound. They pay themselves of
from profits. So, concludes the prop
uganda letter, there could not pos
sibly be able objection to them In
the United States.
The propaganda neglects to
reveal to our people the one sal
lent fact of the matter which
would knock that whole appeal
into a doublecocked Homburg,
namely that British Socialism
contemplates also taking over
the Bank of England, which, Of
course, is the most important
consideration in her future cred
it standing.
Any American business man who
thinks of that fact Che will have to
think Of it himself because the
propagandists will not tell hin) will
Immediately say to himself: "Why,
II the Socialists are to abolish the
standards of credit of Capitalism in
their best, and perhaps change it
from day to day, or run it in any di-
rection they want, ! would not make
them a loan. I would make them
give me some Interchangeable assur-
ance Of financial good faith before
would even consider it,
Cancelled Last Loans.
Now their argument (the British)
Is that they had to have the John
son act repealed to cancel their
last war debt; the London economist
was put up to say that So
cents-on-the-d dollar settlement is nec-
essary to pull them out of lend
lease red (although no one else said
anything officially about paying any
thing), and they are in a desperate
financial plight for dollars, credit
and internally from their terrific
war debt-but they want more debt
from us and want to increase their
internal debt untold billions more
for Socialism and make their people
pay the interest. That sounds like
one-sided proposition.
To put it in its simplest terms:
Britain wants us to pull her out
Of the red and yet have her way,
exclusive Of our interests in
any particular. (Her govern
ment told parliament it would
be awful for us to interfere with
her wishes In any way.)
This same proposition is being
sold to the public in an equally clev-
kr political way. The news accounts
out of the Crowley press conference
(quite plainly presenting off-the-rec-
ord materially said a $4,000, ,000, 900
loan to Britain was being discussed
but British officials were anxious to
make some arrangements concern
ing external debts incurred during
the war before taking on additional
outside debts" Not a word was
mentioned about Britain taking on
more internal debts by purchasing
her own industries - ones which she
already controls in the public inter-
est. Our officialdom just let 1t be
known "some way would have to be
found to carry Britain over the
bumpy road ahead" but not word
that see about what we would get
out of it in any particular.
But one day the news from abroad
quotes the British brain truster,
Prof. Harold Laslxi, as suggesting
the new British government does not
have the interests of the United
States at heart in any respect but
would work closer to the Russians,