WAR DEBTS

Hokitika Guardian, 23 March 1927, Page 4

WAR DEBTS

ALII AIELLON’S FIGURES. BRITISH PRESS PROTESTS. RUGBY, March 20. The statement by the Secretary of the United States Treasury Air Andrew W. Alellon, on his Government’s policy towards European war debts, in which ho is reported to have said that America’s principal debtors are already receiving from Germany more than enough to pay their debts to America, is not in accordance with facts, and is strongly challenged in the British Press. “The Times’s’’ city editor says that Air Alellon’s figures, as reported, indicate that Great Britain will receive £400,000 more this year than she will pay to the United States. “On the contrary,” lie says, “we are not receiving, and are not likely to receive, more from all our Europeon debtors than we have to pay to the United States. According to the detailed figures for the financial years 1925-26, Great Britain paid to America £23,314,000 for interest, 'and £4,953,000 in repayment of capital. In the same period this country received from Germany in reparation payments £lO.250,001) and from, the others £4.464,000. “Thus we received considerably less than one-halt of the amount we paid America. In a financial year ending this month we shall have paid again more than £33,000,000 to America, and will have received from Germany and our other European debtors a little more than £20,000,000. “Further, it is important to note that before we received any regular reparation payments lrorii Germany and 'before any of the Allied war debts were settled. Groat Britain paid upwards of '£100.000.000 to America iit respect of debts. “All the indications at present point to the fact that when all our debtors have settled our claims there will remain every year a substantial deficit on the sum annually to be paid by Great Britain to the United States.’ The “Westminster Gazette” points outs that the French debt payments are on account of an agreement not yet ratified, and recalls that in the interAllied debt pacts Great Britain has laid it down that the aggregate payments which she actually receives from her allies and Germany shall not exceed her total payment to America in any one accounting year. The “Yorkshire Post” o and other newspapers suggest tl*Jt an authoritative reply to AIY Areiton’s miscalculations should be issued.