The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1921. AMERICAN COERCION

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1921. AMERICAN COERCION

A new phase of the disarmament question has been opened up by .Senator Borah,, who has asked the United States Senate to postpone the funding of the foreign debts to America until after the disarmament Conference has concluded its work, his reason for the request being that, should the debtor nations continue vast expenditure on armaments, the United States must insist that they promptly meet their debts, with interest. Such a policy ean only be regarded as an attempt to use coercion in order to secure the limitation of armaments. -America’s legal right to demand the payment of debts due to her, together with the interest thereon, eannot be denied, but whether she is justified in threatening her debtors that unless they agree upon curtailing their expenditure on armaments she will enforce the payment of her financial claims, is quite another matter. If Senator Borah, who apparently has a predominating influence on the Senate, intends his request to be tak-1 en as a serious hint to the nations | indebted to America, it is an objectionable and offensive method of dictating to those nations. In effect lie says that on the result ■of the disarmament conference will depend whether the borrowing nations shall receive further indulgence or not, the logical deduction being that unless the conference arrives, at a decision satisfactory to America, the debtor nations will have to meet their obligations promptly and thus he deterred. at least for a while, from making a large expenditure on armaments. Such a policy in connection with an international conference simply means that America will participate therein with the advantage of possessing a weapon that she can use to gain the end she has in view. If that is to be the position then it seems the holding of a conference would be an absurdity, as well as being derogatory to those’taking part. At the same time there is embodied in Senator Borah’s action a principle which is logically -sound, namely, that if the borrowing nations can afford to squander money on armaments, they should, first pay their debts. Had the Senator merely asked the Senate to pass a. resolution in that form it would not have given any cause for hostile criticism, but to hold up the funding of the foreign debt in order to put the screw on the debtors is nothing less than an affront to those nations who, in breaking the power of Germany, saved America as well as themselves from German domination. The discussion and settlement of the question of limiting arina-

ments is vitally important to the whole world. Moreover, as Amer ica remains outside the League of Nations by deliberate choice, and places more reliance on an international agreement than in the League, she regards the conference as the best method of solving the international problem concerning the best means of maintaining peace, but that does not justify her in entering on the dis- • cussion with a “stand and deliver” policy. The world urgently needs not only relief from the anxieties of armaments and armed strife, but also breathing time to recover from the intense strain of the late war. These boons can only be obtained by a general assent to disarmament. Apparently America is even willing to take part in a preliminary Pacific Conference at which the British Empire will only have one vote. If the main conference is to be given a chance of amicably arriving at a satisfactory decision there must be no threat of consequences; no penalising. A dignified protest against Senator Borah’s action . would not be out of place.