Detroit evening times., 1946-01-23
BEHIND
The NEWS
BY Paul
MaIIon

WASHINGTON Jan Z"-Ai
" approach Of the British so
called loan" dispute in Con
gress. the most popular British
figures are suddenly arriving in
this cuuntTN-Mr. Churchill,
Lady A>tOr, Labor Party Floor
Leader Herbert Morrison (whO
addressed the Press Club here
sotto ypce), Food Minister Sir
Ben Smith, and rumor was
started that the weight of Prin-
cess Elizabeth might he added
10 this homely, friendly. appeal.
The administration iS beStlr-
ring itself in a fearing way also.
MeSSrS. NlnSon and AcheSon
have belabored the airwaVcS
with demands for Congressional
approval, implying that civiliza-
tion depends again on this queS-
tion. as II has so many times on
agreements negotiated by the
administration In the recent
past. They are all scared.
The reason is a vast popular
antagonism 10 the deal which is
being made apparent TO Sena-
tors and representatives IN let
tcrS. kilograms and otherwise
THE defenders are having
Il hard time TO Justify the pro-
gram in the preliminary. debate.
The defense theory is that the
loan is necessary 10 establish
credits for Britain 10 buy in this
country but the agreement AL
lows tho British 10 do whatever
they wish with the money. They
can buy here or not.
The only point the defense
has thus far proved for sure
IL that Britain wants the
money 10 re-eStabliSh herself
financially. Against this con-
tention, critics see the British
Socialist government has al
ready bought the Bank Of
England, and II coming for
ward now with plan 10 buy
the coal mines.
The people through their gov
ernment already control the
Bank of England, direct interest
rates and all financial matters
of the nation. They also con-
troll the price of coal, the wages
of the miners. collect taxes from
that business. Thus the people
are buying what they already
mastered in their own interest.
This is the basic absurdity-
OF the neU British type of
Labor socialism, as many of
our reasonable people see it.
II forces the peoples eoUern-
ment TO assume added obligd-
tions TO buy something they
can already direct for their
oUn best purposes.
SOCIALISTS somehow cling
- TO the unreasonable notion
that profits are a pile Of money
10 be divided If they can get
control, whereas profits really
arc constantly varying returns,
dependent wholly upon the
volume Of business done. lis
efficiency SaleSmanShip, costs
Of materials and a great many
factors other than wages
What the coal mines make
will depend upon what business
the Socialists can do with them
For these reasons, British pur-
poses seem TO us totally con-
fused.
But the underlying and
main valid objection to the
loan" is that il is simply
SO, 100000 cover for the
total wiping out, erasing and
forgetting the $4,000, ,0O0, 900
which the British owe us from
lend-lease.
You Will recall Mr. Roosevelt
sold "lend-leasc' TO this country
as a proposition where fire had
broken out in neighbor' 5 house,
and we had TO furnish him the
hose When the fire was out. of
course, he would give back the
hose.
Mr.. Roosevelt thought he was
actually lending and leasing the
equipment and money, expecting
10 get back material in kind,
If not the same material He
said so. The agreement so pro-
vidcd
If the British could not give
us back a tank for one OF ours
which they had used, they could
give us something elso--somc Of
those raw materials of their far
flung empire IN which we are so
deficient (the list of strategic
materials OF which we have no
stockpileS). or their islands app
preaching our shores or bases
around the world.
But Mr.. NlnSOn says these
things were not even considered,
and he seemed 20 think II would
have been wrong for us even 10
mention these matters 10 the
British. because they asked for
a loan and wanted il considered
separately from other related
questions.
Many eoneressuicn naturally
think our negotidtoTs Went
into the thing on the Wrong
basis. that they merely took
the British UieWpoint.