The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1920. AMERICA'S ATTITUDE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 February 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1920. AMERICA'S ATTITUDE.

| America's present attitude towards the impoverished countries of! Europe is as hard to understand as is her attitude towards the Peace Treaty. In a recent letter to the United States Chamber of Commerce, Mr. .Glass (United, States Treasurer) pointed out that America, since the armistice, had extended four thousand billion dollars of credit to European countries, and that the Treasury was opposed to further Government aid to Europe. For that reason the Treasury did not favor an International Conference of Financiers for the purpose of examining Europe's condition, being apprehensive that such, a conference would revive hopes that the United States would make further European loans. This announcement has evoked comments by London newspapers that are characterised by an unusual degree of bitterness. This is not surprising, for since the Armistice America has become more and more arbitrary and unreasonable and selfish, in striking contrast to the magnificence of the purpose which she showed during the time she was in the war. America has enormously benefited as the result i of the war, mostly at the expense of the Allies, who for two and a half years were engaged in a life and death struggle with the greatest foe to which democracy—indeed, civilisation—has ever been exposed. In fighting Germany they were fighting America's battles as well as their own. Had they failed, all the wealth gathered by America would have gone for nothing. She would have had to toe the line marked by the Huns. America, at last moved to a realisation of the danger confronting her as well as the rest of the world, took her side with the Allies, and did her duty nobly and well, spending her blood and her treasure without stint or limit. Germany was defeated, but at terrific cost so far as the Allies were concerned. They were literally bled white, humanly and financially. Compared to theirs, America's sacrifices wore infin'itessimal. It is not surprising that they now require help to tide them over the present financial economic crisis. America is in the best position to extend that help. She has certainly done so up to a point, but now shows a disinclination to restore these countries for fear that they may become potent commercial adversaries. America overlooks the great debt she is under to the nations that gave theii; all that liberty should not perish. If she wiped off their present debts and returned them the hundreds of millions she made out of their needs, America could not fully discharge that debt, for the reason that nothing can give back to the democracies the flower of their manhood that fell whilst upholding' the torch of freedom. Britain does not want to lean on America, and will carry on as heroically and successfully during the period of reconstruction as she did during the war. But it may be pointed out that if she took up the same attitude to her Allies during the war as America is doing to-day towards the sorely afflicted nations, the war would have been lost. She pledged practically her last shilling to help them. There was no counting the cost, her dominating thought benig to do her utmost for the Allies. Hence Britain's present huge war debt, which she is carrying with a fortitude that must compel the admiration of the world. Talk of America's tax! burden! Why, that is exceedingly light compared with Britain's. The difference is that Britain makes no song about it, but is going on her way lending a hand to her afflicted Allies as well as to her former enemies to save them from economic disaster. From a purely selfish point of view, America cannot afford to view with equanimity the collapse of any of the European nations, for what is an injury to a part must prove an injury to the whole, America can only sell goods to a healthy country, never to a sick one, and it will pay her to do everything possible to restore them to good health. It certainly is not good policy to abandon the afflicted countries to their fate, especially when their parlous condition has been brought about by sacrifices that have made it possible for America herself to remain a free country.