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.