The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-11
One Hundred American Fi- nancial Leaders Join in Reception at J. P. Nor gan's Residence
COMMISSION WILL
 ATTEMPT TO RAISE
 HALF BILLION HERE
Could Use $1, ,O00,O 100000 for
 Purchase of War Supplies,
 But Will Probably Be Sat-
 isfied With $5OOOOO,OOO

| New York. September 1o.-The Anglo French commission, seeking a way ts meet the huge bills of Great Britain ano France for American munitions and other supplies reached New York today, wa. welcomed by J. P. Morgan and met ap. proximately 100 financial leaders late to day at reception in MT. Morgan's library. Tonight the commissioners were dinner guests of party of financiers. Actual negotiations as to the credi ther' hope to establish will not begin fol several days. During this period tn, commission expects to meet many other bankers and exporters and to become ia. miliar with the situation.
 Although the commission comes as the representative of the British and French governments and importers of both na- tions it seemed likely tonight that it might, before departure, be called on to adjust the whole foreign exchange situ- ation for all the entente powers. To the previous report that the delegation prob- fably would act for Russia there was added tonight the intimation, on good au- thority, that Italy might, within a few days. find it expedient to request the com mission to act for 1t as we'll
 Italian Money Depreciates
 Italian money is appreciated in this market to a degree unequaled by any other At the present time fires are worth approximately only three quarters or their face value. Largely because of thls Italian exporters no longer, in many cases, accept their own money :n payment foi goods shipped here, but insist on dol dals or sterling. Chiefly because of the depreciation. Italy sometime ago can ceiled orders for millions of bushels ol American wheat and sent her buyers to Argentina for the grain which otherwise would have been purchased here
 Great Britain and France, it was said tonight have contemplated the possibili- ty Of having to go to South America for meats and grain to an extent much greater than at present and of turning 10 Egypt for cotton. Munitions of war they must buy in the United States be- cause there is no other market; but these, 1t was said, form only a minor fraction of the total exports
 From authoritative source it was learned tonight that not only had Great Britain and France contemplated heavy reduction in their purchase herein every hiS except ueceSSltleS Wn1Cn they cannot buy. elsewhere--but that it had been de- cded that such a reduction would be the only alternative left should the com mission fail in it's mission to the United States
 Want Billion Dollars
 Five hundred million dollars is the smallest sum the commission hopes to borrow. They would much rather have round billion. In view however or the many difficulties which lie in the way of floating a credit loan of such proportions in America. it was thought that the commissions task would be almost of herculean proportions in bor- rowing the smaller sum. The entire pro- ceeds of course, would be used in paying for American supplies.
 Chief of the obstacles the commission faces is the nature of the collateral It Is regarded as almost imperative that American securities be offered as col. lateral. So far. 1t was said, the holders of American securities abroad have evinced a strong tendency to cling to their holdings as the best investment in the world today. Nothing approaching half a billion dollars of American se- curities is at the command of the British and French governments, 1t Is said all though citizens of those countries have eight to 10 times that amount of such securities in their vaults. How to get them out and into the governments hands
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