OCR Text |
Show Uncle Sam Not a BO! Collector. In the volume of foreign .relations of th .United States which has ju"st been issued is an account of an effort made by Great Britain and Gerjjiy to induoe this country to join with them in forcing a settlement of foreign debts, to which national interest in-terest attaches because of the incident's resem-! blance to the Venezuelan episode. Extracts from! correspondence which passed between the State! department and England indicate that an impres- j sion has prevailed in Europe that Uncle Sam Tuns a kind of international debt collecting agency. The following note was addressed to Secretary Hay: "The council of foreign bondholders in London which is seeking to make a new arrangement with the .Government of Guatemala respecting the foreign for-eign debt of that country has suggested that the proposed arrangement ought to be acknowledged by the most interested powers; Germany, the United States and England in order to induce the Government of Guatemala to stick to the new arrangement. ar-rangement. The imperial German embassy would be much obliged if it could be' informed whether the United States Government would be inclined to join in a proceeding of the above mentioned kind should it be adopted by the German and English Governments." Govern-ments." To this Mr. Hay replied: "While the Government of the United States is indisposed to join in any collective act which might bear the aspect of coercive pressure upon Guatemala, this Government would reserve for its citizens equal benefits with those which might be obtained for creditors of any other nationality in this adjustment of the Guatemalan foreign debt, and the United States Minister at Guatemala will be instructed to advise the Guatemalan Government of this attitude on the paifof the United States." It is evident i from this that Uncle. Sam is not tote used in forcing forc-ing payments of debts due European countries. In fact the collecting agency which Germany and Eng land conducted in connection with Venezuela has so disgusted the whole world that the international sentiment it aroused has sounded the deathknell of such iniquitous methods. |