Life — March 12, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

of answers to the cancel the French War De bt? ntly in the nega readers feel that our far-famed obligation to La- fayette has been paid in full, and that the time has come for us to do a little collecting on our account, The Judges were startled at th hemence with which some of the ant French statements were expresse statements which, if uttered in the br 1} 1917-18, would have landed r authors in Fort Leavenworth for THe great majority question, “Shall v Some of the most representative an- rs on both sides of the question are tblished herewith: More Watchful Waiting T is too late. A beau geste to be ef- fective must be spontaneous. To have cancelled all the war debts would have been sublime; to cancel that of France alone, after having refused her our guar- antee of safety and insulted her by sus- picion, would be ridiculous. Margaret Wentworth, 408 West 20th St., New York City. Pass the Buck ON'T cancel the French war debt. Mark it “bad” and deduct it from your income tax return. That'll put it right up to the Government. Harry G. Beneman, 41 N. Mechanic St., Cumberland, Md. Emphasis "IT say, WE SHALL NOT! To do so would be to encourage another war sooner, if possible, than it will occur anyway.. There is only one way to get the world down on this war business and that is to prove that war is a damn expensive luxury and only fools indulge. The economic phase of human butchery when properly stressed will do more to outlaw war than all the leagues, treaties, etc., combined or separate will ever accomplish. Uncle Sam responded when he was needed and saved Europe's neck. It cost him a lot in lives and money to do it. He Lire’s Question Contest Announcing the Winning Answer to Question Number Three: “Shall We Cancel the French War Debt >”’ THE Prize or $50.00 1s AWARDED TO: Alice M. Keys borough 190 Scar! Toronto, Canada For the following answer: XACT it, not because it is France's debt, but because it is a salutary thing to make war unpopular. War costs blood and tears and mor and the pay- ment of money is the part of the cost that irks men most. It is a pang which nothing mitigates. No crowds line the, streets to cheer the man who is about to pay his taxes; there is no martial music to assuage his anid The payment of a war debt is a tedious and prosaic business, and to cancel a war debt would be to take from war its deadliest sting. Sink the money at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, or give it to the poor and sick, but collect it to the last sou. Make war hurt! doesn’t want to have to do it AGAIN. sure that he will pot have to do it again for at least a very, very long time to come those responsible must be taught by some method ‘quickly grasped and easily understood how much it cost in cold hard cash to kick up a fight, As soon as the world realizes that war costs too much there will be less war. C. E. Brown, P. 0. Box 181, Troy, Pa. Educational Value HEN we consider how much we have benefited from the French war debt up to date we realize how great a national calamity would be its cancel- lation, not to mention its payment. Until this question arose how many America: knew that France cancelled several years’ interest on the French war loan to the NEXT WEEK—Announcement of the winning answer to Question Number Four, “What About the Younger Generation?” United States in the Revolutionary War? How many ever knew that France made us a war loan? How many ever heard of a livre of which France loaned us a million or more? And how many of those who got into America before the immigration bars went up ever heard of the American Revolution? Cancel that debt and deliberately blight the education of generations of Amer- jeans yet unborn? Jamais! Arthur S. Henning, 2737 Cathedral Avenue, Washington, D. C. Look to Ourselves SKING France to pay her war det to us is like “staking” a poker player in a game and then demanding every nickel of his winnings. This bill should be scratched off the ledger. God knows we cancelled enough of our debts to our doughboys without disturbing an eyelash. Why swallow a camel and gag on a gnat? S. M. DeHuf, Connellsville, Pa What Price Glory? AS an American who fought in France, I urge cancellation of this debt. Through five years of fire and blood and agony, France stood guardian over the rights of freemen, weak but defiant Her courage and loyalty to civilized ethics saved modern civilization, Many of her fairest provinces are devastated, whilst the land of Britons and Ameri- cans remains unharmed. God grant that our cordial friendship and real fraternity of arms, sealed in sweat and blood at Yorktown and on the Meuse, may not suffer betrayal by inter- national politicians and financiers. Let us help our traditional ally who helped us in our darkest days. We can easily afford the cost. Such a generous act will not be charity—it will be simple humanity, and in accord with the teach ings of Jesus Christ our Savior. France lost 1,400,000 defenders as compared with our 68,000. She comicbooks.com