| Show Ales Allies Really Can Ca Pay Debts Debt 1 4 But It Will WIl Hurt Hu t d By ny RODNEY DUTCHER WASHINGTON Nov 26 When 26 When anyone says that the allies ales cant pay their debts he means mean that payment Isa is isa isa a lot harder than it used to be They still have the capacity to pay but that capacity to pay long lone ago taken as a yardstick by this country coutry in negotiating the war debt agreement agreements agree agree- agreements ments ment has hs' altered m materially and is i under uder a far fr greater strain geater If I the original settlements were l al-l together fair fir all al around some revision would now be necessary to readjust the debt burden bock back to its it relative weight in the period The po position iton of at the allied aled debtors in demanding revision I closely cosely rc re m- m bles ble that of American tanners farmers who demand some form for of relief from debts debt which because of ot very ver low farm prices pries are arc driving so s many of at them into bankruptcy and foreclosure Whereas the farmer frequently has no means mea whatever of ot foreign governments theoretically can raise raie any amount of ot money by taxing their people people But taxes taxes' in Eur Europe pe already are sky high and must be used in i high sk-high greatly greaty increased proportion for debt payments If It payments payment are to t be m made d don on the existing schedule under present pres pres- cut ent conditions I This article merely discusses the cant cant pay phase of at the vastly complicated com corn problem n as to t which the most important concrete te facts are the following fol fbi lowing MONEY WAS GERMANS The already paid tous to tous tous us by the ales allies has come in effect from German reparations which have come in effect from German borrowIngs borrow Ings lags in the United States States Credits to t Germany virtually cease ceased d at at about I the time our depression began beca The allies ales recently virtually canceled canceled can can- reparations by scaling them down lown to on an agreement agreement agree agree- agree ment technically contingent upon debt deb revision It I is well wel to remember that this was done not for the fun of oC it it it but bu because continued insistence on on regular regular regu regu- lar ar German payments payment might have leeo led lee to o financial and economic collapse am and political disturbances in Europe the Europe the thing hing Hoover acted to avert in his famous famous fa fa- fa moratorium Reparations sz Sl revenue permanently cut ct off o as a a SUrel f Original settlements were base continued improvement of bae m 0 economic condition with no EP cont of ot or pr provision for the cont worldwide ide depression Huge obligations such as the Wr v aJ debts debt ultimately have to be b paid u and goods services Wholesale uric 1 over the world have haye declined mar than tha a third since the debts debu were ve veed funti mOe ed it Is pointed d out by bythe the com tu of ot economists on intergovernmental debts which means that the burden bUrdt o at 0 has increased 50 SO per cent because the debtors debtor must mut now lr cei Si half hal as much again aga In comm Sl to come out even j Substantial increase in world j would make payment that much eail- eail for the debtors in the same muc way hig eUr agricultural prices price would aid our d dett ridden farmers det F. F FOREIGN TRADE SLUMP H 4 The Te process of payment matter of transferring property in i goods and ad services service from debtor t to creditor which means that th the debtor t te must build up an export zu which the creditor nation nahan wU But we do not want goods gos w would compete with our own indu tries so sowe we have set up a high tarUl wall wail against against them them Other cogg have followed suit suit Foreign CoUte trade 5 of t the the debtor debtor countries has ha ta taper per cent since 1929 largely largel drop that mode of payment Debts must be paid in i gold gold countries except France have almost no gold So they must I buy bu d liti with wih which to pay us They They cando can dc that tha but here again aga they ar arc al hare hard hit for the currency with wih which ha tJ v. v must mUt buy dollars i-depre i th British pound for or instance from to representing an deb burden burde of 25 per cent cent Those are the main mai fact facts as ast cant pay story Sad as the te story str j is it does doe not discourage the te com American America contention that the debtor ought to t cut their huge expenditure for armaments and that any must be worked out with wih primary con for provisions provision likely to ta k general economic revival and nd Amerl Amer Am ran ian trade in particular |
