National Affairs: A Loan at Last

By prevailing diplomatic manners, Franco’s Spain was still not considered nice enough to sit down to dinner with the neighbors. But there seemed to be nothing against giving her enough money to enjoy a meal in her own dining hall. Last week, Manhattan’s Chase National Bank, without objection from the U.S. State Department, gave Spain its first hearty handout from the U.S. since war’s end: a $25 million short-term loan, for the purchase of fertilizers and electrical equipment. The loan was a gilt-edged risk, backed by Spanish gold reserves deposited in London, which made Chase happy. Spain was happy just to have the ice so firmly broken. Crowed one Spanish negotiator: “If I refuse to do business with a man simply because I don’t like his face or manner, I would not change my mind even if he were to give me his diamond ring to back a deal. If I accept, the question of principle is settled.”