The same thing is true of United States banks that buy pesetas in Spain at an acceptable rate of interest there for the period of the war. This is being done to a certain extent and American banks thus buying American dollars at sixty-seven cents, thro Spanish loans will make a profit of fifty per cent. on such dollars when the dollar reacts to par and gold can be freely shipped.
It is obvious that American commerce and Allied commerce and Spanish commerce is being subjected in this way to a serious injury with compensatory benefits to the Spanish and American bankers who are selling credits in Spain.
METHOD OF PLACING CREDITS
ABROAD
It ought to be possible for American banks, for British banks, for French banks against adequate securities to borrow in Spain at an acceptable rate of interest Spanish credits necessary to liquidate the comparatively small favorable Spanish commodity trade balance. This amount is in the neighborhood of a hundred million dollars per annum. This might be accomplished by vigorously campaigning in Spain with the consent, sympathy and assistance of the Spanish Government officials for the sale in Spain of the War Finance Corporation Bonds, payable in terms of pesetas running five years, of liberty bonds payable in pesetas, etc., etc., using every available agency to correct the condition so injurious to Spain and to the Allies.
I insisted when the War Finance Corporation Bill passed the Senate upon putting in an authority that these bonds might be issued in terms of foreign currency to accomplish this very purpose, and it became a part of the Act, and later a like provision was made a part of the Act authorizing bonds for the Third Liberty Loan. These bonds could be bought by American importers, or by British and French importers and sold in Spain if necessary at a sufficient discount to obtain Spanish credits against the necessary purchases of the Allies or of the merchants in the Allied countries. In this way the Spanish business men would have a security bearing a satisfactory rate of interest, payable in terms of their own money, and would thus be assured of receiving their own money on a gold par basis with a satisfactory rate of interest. This would suffice, if properly carried out, in bringing the American dollar to par in Spain, and to bring the British pound sterling and the French franc to par in Spain. To accomplish it, however, requires a mechanism making it somebody’s business to do this, to carry on an adequate campaign to place these securities.
As it is we have no adequate mechanism with which to handle it. American or Spanish banks who place credits in Spain and carry credits in Spain till the war ends will make fifty per cent. on every gold dollar at 67 cents they buy in the United States, into Spanish pesetas at 28.50. They have no public interest to serve in preventing such conditions. They are themselves engaged in profiteering on American commerce and on Allied commerce. We have seen men trained as American bankers deliberately advocating that it was best for the United States to have its dollar at a discount, contrary to reason, contrary to common sense, and most injurious to the United States, to Great Britain and to France, interfering with the successful prosecution of the war and actually serving the interest of Germany by indirection. I am willing to assume that these gentlemen advocating the dollar at a discount are not moved by unpatriotic purposes, but the result is injurious to America and favorable to Germany and is contrary to the public interest, while it is highly favorable to profiteering by private interests.
DUTY OF GOVERNMENTS
The United States, Great Britain, France and Italy should use the firm strong hand of organized government to prevent such harmful imposition of usurious rates on the resources of the Allies now engaged in deadly war. Exchanges are commodities, and governments able to fix prices on commodities and fair interest rates on bonds can fix reasonable exchange and interest rates on international bills, and prevent the sale of pesetas above 19.30 or gold par and prevent the sale of lire at 11 cents and then buying the offerings at 19.30 and refusing to allow the sale at any other rate. American, English and French banks refusing to buy pesetas except at gold par would end the false values put arbitrarily on pesetas as far as exchange is concerned on the loan of pesetas.
In order to sell pesetas there must be both a seller and a buyer. If the Governments of Great Britain, France, Italy and the United States can control the banks of those countries and prevent their buying pesetas at an exorbitant rate the market for pesetas would be measurably controlled. The selling of pesetas at a grossly usurious rate is against public policy. It is against the interests of the Allies. It is a gross injustice because it has the effect of taxing the Allies fifty per cent. for the use of Spanish credit which ought to be extended, if extended at all, on a reasonably decent basis. Therefore, the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy would be justified, as a war measure, in forbidding the banks of the great belligerents from buying pesetas except on terms of reasonable interest charges, considering war conditions.
Moreover, there should be concerted action by the four belligerents in making representations to the Spanish authorities as to the injustice to the Allies of the Spanish exchange situation, and that the highly appreciated Spanish currency, or Spanish credits, is doing positive harm to Spanish commerce, as I have otherwise pointed out.