Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-02-23
ALLIES HAVE No
THOUGHT Of NOT
PAYING WAR DEBT
To UNITED States
Loan Bill Purposes the
Creation of Sinking Fund toI
LiQuidate Liberty Bonds in
twenty-five Years,
EXTRA SESSION MAY
BE CALLED FOR APRIL |
Foreign Officials Express No
Intention Of Asking America
to Cancel. Indebtedness for1
War Advances,

| ley MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL lEAsEp wlREi
| Washington Feb. 22.-Iiberty Loan
! legislation reported to the house late
! today by the ways and means COM
| mittee provides for the establishment
! of a sinking fund for the retire ment|
| of government war bonds within TWEEN
! ty-five years, continues the war fl
| nance corporation so it may aid
| American export commerce. permits
| further loans for the sale to foreign
governments Of equipment sent abroad'
| and carries provisions designed to sta
| bilize the price of past issues of bonds.
Chairman Kitchin of the commit
| tee announced that a report on the
measure would be filed Monday and
| that he planned to call the bill before
| the house for consideration late Tues
day, after passage of the sundry civil
| appropriation.
quick disposal of the measure is
| planned by administration leaders, for
! on its passage largely depends the date
| Of a special session. Failure of the
senate to pass the bill before adjourn
| ment, March 4, Mr.. Kitchin said, prob
| ably would mean an extra session by
! April l. should the bill be passed at
this session, he said, he did not believe
| it would be necessary for congress to-
meet until about May 15.
Allies Don't Expect 1t.
The present record of executive
hearings by the committee on the leg
| islation, made public with the intro
! duction of the measure, contained Of
! ;,t, oil tlat lA oil ft "a al
| the United states to forgive debts re-
sulting from loans advanced during
| the war.
Officials of foreign governments
/ have always expressed the intention
! Of their governments to pay the in
I 1obtedhess, ana have sale tlat they
had no intention of doing anything
else" Albert Rathbone, assistant sec
| retary of the treasury, in charge of its
! foreign loan bureau, told the commit
/ tee, when asked about the loans that
| approximate $500, 100000.
1T is true,'' he continued, there
have been one or two suggestions
made here by statesmen, not holding
! any public office, that the debts
should be forgiven.
! In this connection Mr.. Rathbone
presented two letters from the French
high commission Officially denying
! that President Wilson had been APP
| preached by officials with a view to
! having the United States share the
! war expenditures of the entente from
the beginning of the war.
1 Clemenceau Gables Denial.
''The prime minister has cabled an
| order to deny most emphatically that
such a suggestion has ever been made
! to President Wilson by any French
\ official" declared one of the letters,
I while the other explained resolution
! introduced in the French chamber OF
| deputies for the establishment OF an
| international financial union among
/ the allies to distribute the war ex-
| penses among the nations on basis
| of population and the power to con-
I tribute financial support
"The French government" the let
| ter said, "has nothing whatever to do
with the project and is not giving its
support to the resolution"
| Mr.. Rathbone said there was moth
| ing on record in the treasury suggest
| ing the cancellation of the obliga-
! tions, and he added
| "AH the statements made by repre-
| senta ttves of the foreign governments
II have in mind particularly the
| British-have been to the effect that
| it would be unthinkable that their
governments should not ppay their
! debts: they say they do not want
| charity; that they have borrowed the
! money and intend to pay
! No Changes Made.
No change in direct legislation re-
i garding the next Liberty loan was
made by the committee in final con-
sideraton of the war measure.
| The sinking fund is provided by.
direct appropriation from the trea-
4 sury of 9 IL per cent of the aggre-
gate amount of Liberty bonds and
notes that will be outstanding on
July /, 1920. The amount, the com
mittee said, was expected to be $1S,-
| 900, 900 900 so that the first year the
| contribution to the fund would b.
/ $3.50, 900, 900, with that in the future
| dependent on the rapidity of retire
ment.
| Loans for export trade by the war
| finance corporation under the terms
/ of the bill may be for period of five
years, but no loans to American ex-
| porters are permitted il private capi-
| tai is available, and the interest rate
on such advances is fixed at not less
/ than one per cent. These loans, linn
! tied to $1,000. 100000, may be made
within one year after the proclama-
ton of peace by the president, but
at the end of that time the corpora
| tion is directed to begin its liquida-
| ton.
| Opposition to the continuance of
! the corporation was voiced in the
committee by Representatives Moore
of Pennsylvania and Sloan of Ne
| braska, and they are expected to
carry their fight to the floor of the
house.
| To Dry Sweet Potatoes.