The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-01-29
Lloyd George AbandonS
Stand for Fixed Total-Bel-
gium Backs BRAND and
Italians Withdraw.
COMMITTEE DRAFTS PLAN
Premiers' Acceptance of It
Pr0bable-Total Payments
Estimated at 200 Billion
Marks Gold.
BY LAURENCE HILLS.

BY LAURENCE HILLS.
Special Cable to THE NEW York HERALD.
Copyright, 1891, by THE New YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Paris. Jan. go (Saturdny).)
After midnight this morning it was
announced that the allied committee
Of financial and economic experts
named by the Supreme Council had
reached an agreement on the repara-
tions Germany must pay.
They have agreed that these repara-
tions shall be paid over a period Of
forty-two years, and that they shall
be In the form Of annu'fies, fixed on a
sliding scale ranging frol 2,000,0 900
marks gold the first FIVE or ten years
10 6,0o0,000,000 marks gold per annum
later.
In addition to this they propose an
ad valorem tax Of 12h per cent. on
German exports after the first five
years.
This, while providing final settle
ment of the German reparations ques-
liOli, nDlCI iidS NCAcu ItlG dlilcQ BON-
ernments for two years, still leaves IN
definite the total amount Germany
must pay.
Will Be Submitted To-day.
The agreement reached by the COM
mittee will be referred to the Supreme
Council when it meets to-day The
consensus in well informed circles
here is that 1t will be accepted. If so,
the Premiers will formulate instruc-
tions for the allied experts to follow
at the Brussels conference, which will
fix the details of the scheme and will
define the penalties the Germans must
pay should they not meet the terms.
The committee, which began It's Ia Dor
Immediately after 1t was named yester-
day. did not complete its work until
1880 o'clock this morning.
Premier Lloyd George, in a final
effort to reach a settlement OF the
reparations problem here, apparently
conceded to the French demand for a
coefficient on German prosperity. which
was obtained in the 121s per cent. ad
valorem tax on German exports 10 be-
gin five years after this reparation
scheme is accepted and becomes effec-
tive. This percentage will be added to
the fixed annuities.
This gives q probable total OF 200, ,0Oo,-
100000 marks gold In reparations, not
counting the ad valorem export tax.
Discountable value.
However, no one can tell the total
amount Of the German payments under
lhss sAAeue. and the discountable vs'ue
OF the German obligation will be prob
lAR for tha financial world Indeed.
sauAe bankers here even doubt IL the
annuities will be discountablc unless
they are backed by a guarantee such
as control of the German customs, in
which event Il is feared that the Sc
curities would not be marketable TO
the public.
Belgium supported France in the
scheme, the Italians Withdrawing from
the discussion. Premier Lloyd Georges
abandonment Of his demand that a fixed
total of indemnity payments be de-
cided upon. after his stand before
Premier BRAND yesterday. caused some
surprise. although It Is regarded here
as characteristic of the British Prime
Minister.
The agreement In the committee and
the probable favorable action OF the
Pren1iers to-day Ia looked on here as
n substantial victory for France. Her
ability TO solve her financial difficult
ties by the scheme. however depends
on her ability to discount the Germ@n
annuities in America.
Many Methods Discussed.
II was authoritativeiy stated that the
committee before Il reached a decision
discussed many means of solving the
rapsrations problem. One OF these
schemes provided that the reparations
bo fixed at 269. 900. 600. 900 marks gold
Cnormally $4,000. 1000, ,o00). payable
within forty-two years. AS in the scheme
finally decided upon. the payments ir
this case would have been over a sliding
scale. being fixed at 100000. 900 marks
gold a year for five years 5000, 600. 900
marks gold a year for the next five
years and 1000. .0oo.o 900 marks gold a
year for the next thirty-two years.
Premier Lloyd George In his private
conversations here showed he virtually
accepted all OF the arguments put for
ward by John Maynard Keynes in his
discussions of the reparations problem
but not Mr. Keyness sum OF 10000
100000 as the total amount of the rep
arations. Indeed. II appeared from these
private conversations that the only
ground on which he met the French was
that Germany could and must pay taxes
az do France and Great Britain.
The British Premier regards allied
debt arrangements with the United
states as matters for the individual ma
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