New-York tribune., 1921-02-15
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Houston Is Called Before
Judiciary Committee To-
day With Documents
ShowingU. Obligation
Wilson Debt Pledge
Puzzle in Capital
Tardieu's Open Statement
in October Not Denied
by Officials Concerned
By Carter Field


WASHINGTON, Feb. 14.-secretary
OF the Treasury Houston is still under
ire from the Senate Judiciary Commit
tee. In spite of the fact that he went
-nefore the Foreign Relations Commit
tee Saturday and, in secret, told the
committee many things about the AL
ned debts to the United States and the
retunding negotiations, the Judiciary
Committee itself wants full informa-
ton about these matters.
The committee to-day adopted q mo-
ton requesting Secretary Houston to
appear before it tomorrow and to
bring with him the documents which
will show this government is in honor
bound to make further payments to
European countries, and the amounts.
The motion also seeks the facts as to
the securities for loans which have
been delivered or which it is propose
to take for new advances, and the facts
about refunding negotiations.
Meanwhile very peculiar situation
has developed over the alleged prom
Use of President Wilson at Paris TO
do what he could to bring about a
cancellation of all inter-Allied debts,
Publication of the fact in The Tribune
that reports that the President had
made such promise had reached q
member Of the Senate Foreign ReIa-
tlons Committee stung several Admin
lstratloni officials into private repudia-
tlons, some Qf which were printed
anonymously, in the newspapers reach
ing the capital this morning.
Denials Not Official
Both at the White House and at the
State Department, however. although
word of mouth-not to be quoted.
statements of denial that the President
had ever given any assurances were to
be mad for the asking, there was Of
ficially, SO far as statements were con-
cerned, nothing to be said on the sub
ject.
The unusual feature of the situation
is that high State Department officials
have known for some time, and it is
reasonable to assume that Colonel
House, Thomas F. Lamont and Others
involved must have known for some
time. that Andre Tardieu made frank
statement in the French newspaper
ILLUSTRATION. on October 23 last. and
yet since that tine no public denial
of this statement of Tardieu's has is
sued either flom any official OF the
State Department or from the White
House, or from Colonel House, or from
Thomas F. Lamont.
All Of which is mystifying to those
here who are trying to get the rea.
facts about the situation, not to men
tion the Senator'S who have grown used
TO finding out what American officials
have done by cabled accounts from
foreign capitals, which at first are Of
r'cially denied here, frequently by
American offici4ls, and finally grudg-
ingly admitted.
An interesting part of the statement
by Mr.. Tardieu is direct quotation of
Mr.. Lamont. The Tardieu statement
begins:
"At the beginning of May, 1919, one
of Mr.. Wilson's financial advisers.
Thomas W. Lamont, thus summed UP
the Presidents state of mind:
"'The President perfectly under
stands the fact that the United States
must help in the economic reconstruc-
tion of Europe. 1t is question of
self-interest and of duty alike for the
United States to hasten the end of the
financial crisis and to assist Europe
and France and Great Britain particu-
larly to emerge from the crisis.
Nothing can be done so long as
the question is not explained exhaus-
lively to the people of the United States,
no one except the President who has
the necessary auth ority to educate the
country in this matter. But he can only
undertake this job when the treaty
itself has been ratified.
For the moment it is necessary to
be patient. If you try to go too fast
you will only provide the opponents of
the treaty with another weapon, and
that is ALL"
Immediately after this Mr. Tardieu
continues his own comments, which, al
though printed last October in Paris
in we'll known and widely circulated
paper which could scarcely have es-
capped the eyes of attaches of the
American Embassy, have never brought
forth any official comment.
Tardieu's October Statement
Following is the quotation from NJ
Tardieu, who is we'll known in Wash
ington not only because Of his con-
nection with the peace conference, but
because he was the High Commissioner
of the French government here during
the war:
"In the following June I had many
conversations with Colonel House and
Mr.. Lamont on the same subject We
knew that we could not pass from
words to deeds. But we prepared the
possible solution. It is thus that we
accepted as useful and capable of reali.
cation that plan of which Mr.. Keynes
tcentlnasd on page sssss)