EUROPEAN DANGER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 118, 11 January 1932, Page 5

EUROPEAN DANGER

(Press. Assn,

BRINK QF PFFCIPICE "FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE =. OUR DEBTORS" .5CAUSES OF WORLD CRIS1S

, — By Telegtaph— dopyright).

Rec. Jan. 10. 7,30 p.m. % LONDON, Sunday, 'Sp6akiiig at an offieial luncheon ott soard the P. attd 0. Company's newiuxury liner, Strathnaird, the Hon. \lexandef Shaw, deputy-chairman )f : the'1 eorhphfty, spcfke impressively )n reparations and war debts, mendphifig that he had to bes Cautiotis as ie- was a director of the Bank of 3ngland. Mf, Shaw said that it shciuld never >e forgotten that While America has •ehiittdd 18 per cent. of Great Briain's war debts, Great Britain as a ireditor has -forgiven the Allies 70 )er cent. - Of their war debts. Great Britain, in the old wars, fre(Ue'ntly granted subsidies to her Alies, not as a loan, but as a free jift. In the Great War, where an ^merican shell Was fired by Amerian artillerymen froitt an American ;un, the United States did not make il charge against the Allies, either or the soldiers' pay or for the cost if the gun or Shell, but where an tmerican shell was fired by a British ir French soldier, it was charged as , debit due in gold to the United States. The same extraordinary rule held letween all tlfe othei' Allies. The iovernment was to blame for lop-sided ommefciaiism so misapplied. He did tot believe the masses of any country alked then about repayment, they ;ave money, energy and lives for a ommon cause. Tribute to America

Mr. Shaw paid a tribute to Amerja's part in saving the freedom of the /orld, but said that he could not imgine they would insist on a course rtiich would postpone, not only the Ireek Kalends, but also. recovery of lurope and indeed, of the whole (orld. He described the problem as twoold; collection and transfers. The ations were confronted with the fact hat there was not enough gold in he world to meet the bill for rearations and war debts, which could est, therefore, be paid in goods and ervices. The total value of goods, pread over 50 years, with which to ay America, if she insisted on .payient would mean the equivalent of 1,500,000,000. This continual drain f goods; besides being unwanted, was islocating America's own production nd would impoverish her foreign cusomers. • As regards the money market of he world, the symptoms, said Mr. Ihaw, Were those of a general mal,ise, punctuated with panic. "An atmosphere of menace hangs ver Eiirope and gives rise to armalents and leads to war, distrust, and tagnation of industry," he said. "It 3 not exaggerated to say that the conomic and social structure of Eurpe are daily moving nearer the prepice. Europe is in that position. Her llingness to pay, however admirable, no longer relevant. The plain :uth is that if things'go on as they re going, the choice will simply be etween repudiation and Chaos. "May I suggest a message of long £o: 'Foregive us our debts, as we argive our debtors'. These words iach us the wise and only practical olicy." Mr. Shaw added that he had spoken lainly because these were no times jr false and easy optimism.