Money

If the Government of the U.S. were a business proposition, which it has never pretended to be, and if a Certified Public Accountant should come to examine its books, he would find several items marked: "Accounts receivable." By far the largest one, in fact an account receivable larger than any which has ever been known since the Chinese first invented an adding machine, he would find to be in excess of ten billion dollars. As nearly as Secretary Mellon's secretaries can figure, it is $10,556,804,223.40. Accrued interest is almost two billion more, making twelve. This is the amount owed the U.S. by foreign countries for loans and supplies during the War and reconstruction periods. It is divided-in millions of dollars-as follows:

UNFUNDED France $4,210 Italy 2,138 Belgium 480 Russia 225 Czecho-Slovakia 118 Yugo-Slavia 65 Rumania 46 Austria 30 Esthonia 18 Greece 18 Armenia 15 Latvia 6 $7,369 FUNDED Great Britain $4,554 Poland 178 Finland 9 Lithuania 6 Hungary 2 $4,749

TOTAL $12,118

Twelve thousand million is twelve billion. Or, assuming there are 30 million people earning a living in the U. S., it is about $400 per wage earner.

Last week, the diplomatic representatives of the U. S. brought these facts before the Governments of the debtor nations. The State Department is the channel through which the Debt Funding Commission communicates with sovereign Powers.

No one worries about the funded debts-they are being regularly paid, principal and interest, like high-grade bonds, in accordance with agreements made between the U.S. and the debtors.

But the unfunded debts are simply "I.O.U.'s," mostly promises to pay on demand. Demand for payment has never been made. The U.S. has intermittently and circumambulatorily suggested that the "I.O.U.'s" be redeemed and the debtors have replied, sometimes politely, "Yes, yes, but at the moment I'm a trifle stony-do you mind ?"

Last week's suggestion or, as it was diplomatically phrased, "reminder," was made concurrently to all the unfunded debtors and was slightly more formalized than its predecessors. It was specifically suggested that the debtors send "funding commissions" to Washington.

The text of this reminder was not public, nor is it likely that the public will have immediate knowledge of the replies. In such delicate matters as money, secret diplomacy is not outworn.

The members of the Debt Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, a host of minor officials, not to mention the President and various Congressional Committees, all have responsibilities in the matter of these great monies.

But they constitute the particular province of the Under Secretary of the Treasury, Garrard Winston. As one of the "younger men," he entered the Treasury under Andrew Mellon.

He is now 43.

In April, he hurriedly visited several European capitals, had an especially earnest discussion with Georges Theunis, at that time Premier of Belgium. He was in France just as Joseph Caillaux was returning to power with promises of sound financial reform.

The present diplomatic dunlets may be assumed to be the result of his trip. When the replies come by mail or in person, Mr. Winston will be called upon to read their meanings.