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Show w FOREIGN" LOANS MADE WITHOUT ANY SECURITY Washington, Dec. 28 The debate in the House of Representatives incident in-cident to the passage of the bill to facilitate the refunding of foreign debts to he Unied States disclosed some very interesting facts. It was brought out that had the administration adminis-tration at the time the United States made the loans to he foreign governments govern-ments complied with the law there would not now be any occasion to make provision for refunding these foreign debts. The loans made by ithe United States to several foreign governments govern-ments during the war, aggregated about $10,000,000,000, represent ad Vances made presumably under the j Liberty Loan act. This act provides for the extension of credits to foreign for-eign governments. But it expressly-stipulated expressly-stipulated the manner in which the ; credits should be extended. This stipulation was that money should be loaned to foreign governments by the purchase from them of their obligations ob-ligations "bearing the same rate of interest and containing in their es-isentials es-isentials the same terms and conditions condi-tions as those of the United States (i. e. Liberty Eonds) issued under the authority of -this act." In other i words, the officials of the Wilson administration ad-ministration were authorized to loan i money to foreign governments only in event foreign governments gave formal security for the loans. ' In commenting upon ethis in the course of the debate. Congressman Longworth, said: "Xo valid excuse was ever offered, so far as I have heard, for this departure de-parture from the plain intent of Con gress with regard to substantial security se-curity for foreign loans. Several times tim-es Secretary MeAdoo was before the Committee on Ways and Means and was questioned about the matter. The statements were never published in any printed hearing. They were never made to the House of Representatives. Repre-sentatives. They were absolutely secret se-cret in so far a? bublic statements issued from the Treasury' department depart-ment are concerned. Secretary MeAdoo Me-Adoo excused this sort of transaction transac-tion by saying it was more convenient conven-ient and expeditions." , These debts are very great. They constitute 40 per cent of the entire outstanding obligations of the United Unit-ed States government. The Interest upon these loans is. in round num-mers. num-mers. Sl.nnn.nnn per day. none of which has been paid since the loans were made. All of the loans have run at least three years and some of them have run four years. The Amer-j ican people are interester in having these debts and the accumulated interest in-terest paid, not only because the annual an-nual income of over J500.000.000 a year, in the form of interest, would enable the federal itaxes to be lowered low-ered in corresponding sum, but unless un-less these debts are paid by foreign governments, the American people themselves will have to pay them. The money loaned foreign governments govern-ments was obtained from proceeds of Liberty Bond sales. When the time comes for the United States to retire re-tire the Liberty bonds, unless this money from foreign governments is' collected, the money for retirement of the bonds must be raised by an increase in Federal taxes. |