Evening star., 1921-07-22
u. s. NOT TO TAKE
WORTHLESS PAPER
No Thought of Accepting
Such Securities for Ten
Billion Debt.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

America has no thought Of accepting
worthless securities of any kind in pay
ment of the allied debt Of $10, 1000, ,000, 900.
Great Britain has not asked that the
United States accept German bonds in
exchange for her debt and America
wouldn't agree to it if the request were
made
Unless Congress grShts the executive
branch of the government sufficient
authority and broad powers to nego-
tiate with all the foreign governments
who owe the United States money, there
is serious danger that negotiations
over refunding may be prolonged over
many years and the interest payments
delayed indefinitely.
These three principles underlie the
controversy which has arisen between
an element in the Senate and the
Treasury over the effort of Secretary
Mellon to get enough power to handle
the foreign debts of the United States.
Answers to Senators.
Mr.. Mellon has spent practically the
entire week answering the questions
of senators. some of whom seem to
give the impression that they fear
Mr. Mellon will either cancel the for
eien debts or accept securities that
are not worth much. They either do
not know Mr.. Melons ability as
banker and business man or they do
not have confidence in him.
AS a matter of fact. Secretary Mel
lon is the last man in the world to
have a worthless security passed
across his desk. and is the least like
ly to forgive or remit obligations of
such character. because all of his
life he has been trained to negotiate
and bargain. and his own private sue
cess is testimony to what his nat
ural Inclination is in any transaction.
Not to Answer Alone.
But the Secretary of the Treasury
is not, to be empowered to decide the
matter alone. The request for au-
thority means that President Harding
himself will have to approve any
settlement made by the Secretary of
the Treasury before it is actually
valid.
don't know Mr.. Mellon need only have
faith in their erstwhile colleague, the
former senator from Ohio, who now
sits in the White House.
If they hear-as they are bound to
hear-something of the nature of the
negotiations with foreign govern
ments, and they do not like it, they can
always express their views privately
to Mr. Harding, but the real reason
why the administration wants broad
power to negotiate the funding of in
terest and principal on the foreign
debt is that it is impractical to have
a legislative body conduct a discus
sion on such confidential matters as
are involved.
The Treasury will ask, for instance,
that all cards be laid on the table.
Foreign governments will ask that the
information be treated as confidential.
and in the discussions which are to
take place the utmost secrecy will be
required until an agreement is
reached. What the United States may
be able to get from one government
it may be able to obtain from another
if all the negotiations are public and
if all the loans have to be treated as
separate propositions.
Treasury's Trouble.
The trouble is the Treasury has
some authority under one law and
another species of authority under
another. The loans were made at
different stages Of the war, and the
most practicable way to deal with
them is as a unit Thus all the loans
made to Great Britain would be
treated as q group and those with
France as a group. The Treasury
wants plenty of authority to make
agreements. because it does not want
to have any one hereafter cast doubt
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