The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-02-04
BEGIN WORK OF
REFUNDING DEBT
Congress Ready to Open Nego-
tiations for Refunding Eleven
Billion Foreign Debt.
(Ry Ths A.soelated prea.l


WASHINGTON, Feb. 3.-Congress
finally cleared the way today for the
opening of negotiations looking to the
refunding of the eleven billion foreign
debt.
The house, by an overwhelming ma
jority, agreed to the senate amend
ments to the refunding bill and the
measure was sent to the president.
Mr.. Harding is expected to approve it
as he did not press his objections TO
the senate changes after he had dis
cussed them today, first with Chair
man Fordney of the house ways and
means committee. and later with Sec
rotary Mellon, who is head of the COM
mission of five authorized to conduct
the negotiations with the debtor ma
ltions.
appointment of the other four COM
missioners by, the executive is looked
for within q short time. 1t was made
Mr.. Harding planned TO name two
members of the cabinet and a member
each of the senate and house. There
was no indication at the White House
who would be named. but among those
mentioned elsewhere in connection
with the appointments were Secreta-
ries Hoover and Weeks. Senator Wat
son of Indiana, and Representative
Longworth of Ohio.
| While plans for conducting the ne
gotiations with the debtor nations
have not yet been formulated. it was
said today In informed quarters that
they probably would be conducted
both in this country and abroad. There
has been some discussion of a general
conference of representatives of the
United States and the principal allied
/ powers to discuss the whole subject
of the war debts of those nations.
Those favoring this plan have argued
that it was not to be expected that
the debts owed the United States could
be refunded without reference to the
debts owed among the allied powers
themselves.
! In this connection it has been point
cd out that Great Britain advanced to
its dominion and allies including
France and Italy, approximately nine
and one half billion dollars, while
France loaned nearly three billion dol
lars to its allies, principally Russia
and Italy.
As finally enacted, the debt refund
Ing bill was unsatisfactory both to the
administration and republican leaders
OF the house, but 1t was said that OBJ
jections to it were pressed because of
the delay that would be involved in
sending 1t to conference for the IRON
ing out OF differences between the two
houses.
Chief objection centered on the sem
ate amendment requiring that the re-
funded obligations mature not later
than June IS. 1947, and that the min
mum interest rate be Ia per cent.
Both the president and Secretary Mel
Ion were represented as preferring a
free hand for the commission as to the
life OF the bonds and the interest rate
The treasury secretary was said to
have held. however, that these limita-
tons would not be insurmountable in
the refunding of the debts of 1ne larg-
er nations and that If it should de-
velop that they prevented the refund
Ing of the debts of the smaller and
newer nations the commission could
seek additional authority from con-
gress.
In the discussion in the house Rep
resentative Mondell of Wyoming, the
majority leader, and Mr.. Fordney ar
gued that the United States should
not be in the position of imposing toe
| great time limit in the debtor ma
tons or demanding what Mr.. Mondel
called "a round fat interest rate" They
: said that personally they favored i'm.
Eposing no restrictions on the commits
sion.
Representative Garner of Texas
ranking democrat on the ways anC
means committee, and others on tn,
minority side objected to the senat,
amendments as not going far enough
in the matter or limiting authority a
- to the time that interest paymen
>. should begin. Mr.. Garner said it hal
developed that it had been the plan L
defer the maturity OF the bonds in tn
case of some countries for as much a
fifty years.
III A separate and record vote was IA,
on the amendment carrying the re
strictions as TO maturity date and min
imum interest rate and it was agree
to 299 to &c, on Bipartisan vote.
4