Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-05-08
Churchill Joins Dalton
In Demanding Slash in.
Britain S War Debts
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LONDON, May 8. - Winston
Churchill joined Chancellor of the
Exchequer Hugh Dalton today in
demanding a downward revision OF
Great Britain's war debts.
Why, he asked In speech, should
Britain 'be the only debtor country
in the world while those she had
rescued and those she had conquered
60 into the future without having
to drag the terrible chain Of war
debts behind them?"
Debt TOTALS sl6,s56, ooo, 900.
Mr.. Dalton keynoted the govern
ment drive for a reduction Of
British foreign obligations, calling
for . scaling down Of British war
debts In = speech Tuesday night,
sterling balances piled up by credi-
tor nations in Britain during the
war are estimated at SIG, 1856, 000, 900.
Mr.. Churchill spoke in ceremony
ut which he received the freedom Of
the city Of Darlington and called
for q settlement of British war OBJ
legations along the line of lend
lease. The wartime Prime Minister
said:
when I consider how we de-
Tended and rescued these countries,
I certainly feel that the question of
settlement of these war obligations,
which are quite different from COM
mercial transactions. should be
brought into the general line of
lend-lease, that great idea Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt, the most unsordfd
act which history records, whereby
all In the war together share SUI
ferings and burdens and go equally
into the sunlight at the end"
First Blow In Tough" Policy.
Britain's bold declaration that she
will not pay in full her war-born
debts is the first blow in new
tough" financial policy, highly
placed sources said yesterday.
The dollar total of Britain's
debt is important because the
American loan with which Britain
is trying to regain her economic
equilibrium caused Mr.. Dalton to
speak out. Under the loan terms,
Britain must make some move to-
ward debt settlement by July Is.
u. s. Suggested Scaling Down.
In making the loan, the United
States suggested that Britain get Its
creditors to scale down their claims.
The United States itself holds
Britain to no war debt. That was
all settled under lend-lease and Mr..
Dalton himself said that If other
creditors had operated during the
war on the Anglo-American plan,
Britain would not have the debt
burden to wrestle with today.
"Dalton's speech may be con-
sidered the opening shot in cam
paign to have Britain's sterling bal
ances reduced" an official source
said. at is intended as a warning
that Britain plans to be tough in her
negotiations.
BraziIians Hear Declaration.
Britain is not prepared to regard
all her sterling balances as they
stand at the present time as a.
genuine measure of her indebted
ness"
Mr.. Dalton made his declaration
at meeting OF the Brazilian Cham
Der of Commerce. Britain owes
Brazil 65 million pounds ($260, 000,-
000D. Negotiations for settlement of
this debt are now under way here
and are not moving too smoothly.
But observers said Mr.. Dalton was
not speaking merely for the benefit
of the South Americans. His speech
was aimed also at bigger creditors
specifically India and Egypt.
Britain owes India 1900 million
pounds $4,000, 600, 000). It owes
Egypt 40 million pounds t$1 $780,
oO0, 600. Both India and Egypt, in
preliminary fiscal talks, have re-
f1,ssd RI sra1a doury7 fhexa debts