Detroit evening times., 1945-09-10
PAUL
NIALLON
-Behinc
The New.

WASHINGTON. Sept. s-Mr.
w Truman rs on his own, 10
wipe the lend-lease slate clean
or rather his own and Jim.
mics (meaning State Secretary
Byrnes). Congress can, and will
do nothing. The lend-lease law,
which now turns out TO have
been give-lease law. also gave
the President free power 10
make and close agreements,
without guiding principles.
The original misintefpfetatien
Of Mr.. Truman's announcement
that we should not expect re-
payment, has been amended by
Byrnes and Senate Leader
Barkley TO an extent which rep
resents average congressional
opinion. Mr.. Byrnes said he ex-
pected some underlined things
he called commitments AL
though not dollars.
The run of congressman think
similarly il would be impossi-
BILE TO collect debts, along the
funding lines in which we tried
10 lower drastically and then
collect minor portion Of the
debts of World War /. The ma
tions cannot pay, they say. it
would he dangerous 10 impose
any financial obligations on
them. so why not forget the
whole business? This means.
or course, our taxpayers must
pay the deficiencies
MO SENTIMENT for any AZ
~ firmaiive action 10 make
Messrs. Truman and Byrnes
take any course about the debts
exist in either House. Some de-
batting pressure urging Mr..
ByrneS to get the utmost in
commitments is present and Will
be exerted.
Nowhere can I find any one
who wants 10 ask-what of
Russia. Who can say she Is in
no position to pay her debt ?
She has no internal war debt
like ours. at least none of more
than nominal consequences.
/ understood she started out
paying us for everything she
got, but lapsed lately. Dollar
balances? Russia can mine gold
for perhaps Sll an ounce cost TO
her and sell it to us for S35 an
ounce Ohereby getting about
70 per cent price reduction on
goods from us) and by this
means is in a position to repay.
without hurt.
Also look at her captured re-
sources and markets in Europe
and Asia. which have perma-
nently enhanced her financial
and economic position. In spite
Of injured industry does she
not have genuine ability TO
pay?
IHE condition is different as
Il regards the British Empire,
the Netherlands, France and
others, including China-but not
totally. The British. Dutch,
French and Chinese (nOw ex-
panded through Manchuria)
control the world output OF
every material We are short of.
True, they are financially on
the brink (the world has put up
some $4,000 100000 TO help
them through the Brett o n
Woods bank and exchange
fund.- but after the war, they
conducted world cartels and
monopolies in such strategic
materials as rubber and tin.
Could not a small yearly per-
centage of that monopollstlc
production be applied to reverse
give-lease to help us build per-
manent stock piles, or ever
normal supplies of manganese
(Which Russia has in abun-
dance), tungsten, llnSeed oil,
-eiinine. and even Pacific oil TO
keep our. patrol battleshlps 60
ing around japan in the interest
Of world peace. without having
10 ship fuel 10 them across
that vast ocean?
Government au h oritleS do
not seem 10 want the West
Indies and Bermuda which are
valuable defenses and air bases.
on the ground that we would
have 10 support the poor ma
tiVeS.
Well we need farm labor in
the southern citrus and cotton
belts which might enable the
natives to support themselves,
and the bases might well he
worth loss for security This
phase of repayment may be de-
batable, however.
THERE can be- no debate about
Il the fact that our allied
friends have been short in COM
mitments" of every kind 10 us.
political AS well as economic;
in fact. have made none outside
the United Nations organization
which rs on strictly a mutual
basis.
The British. for instance. are
SociaiiZing the Bank OF Eng