The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-04
WAY CLEARED FOR NEGOTIATIONS ON
 DEBT REFUNDING
House Agrees to Senate Amendments to Refunding Bill and Measure Sent
 to President
By Associated Press

Washington, February s.-Con- gress finally cleared the way today for the opening of negotiations look ing to the refunding Of the S1f,000.- 100000 foreign debt
 The House. by an overwhelming amendments to the refunding bill and the measure was sent to the Pres ident. Mir. Harding is expected to approve 1t as he did not press his objections to the Senate changes after he had discussed them today, first with Chairman Fordney of the House ways and means committee and later with Secretary Mellon, who is to head the commission of five au- thorixed to conduct ,he negotiations with the debtor nations.
 Appointment of the other four com missioners by the executive is looked for within R short time. It was made known today at the White House that Mir. Harding planned to name wv VI th1 tabliNA anu q 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 ap- pointments were Secretaries Hoover and Weeks, Senator Watson of h. diana and Representative Longworth of Ohio.
 May Hold General Conference
 While plans for conducting the ne gotiations with the debtor nations have not yet been formulated 1t was said today in informed quarters that they probably would be conducted both in this country and abroad There has been some discussion of general conference of representatives of the United States and the prin- cipal allied powers to discuss the whole subject of the war debts of those nations. Those favoring this plan have argued that 1t was not to be expected that the debts owed the United States could be refunded without reference to tho debts owed among the allied powers themselves
 In this connection 1t has been pointed out that Great Britain ad-
  including France and Italy, approxi- mately $s,boo. 900 900, while France loaned nearly 5000, ,o00, GOO to it's al- lies, principally Russia and Italy.
 As finally enacted. the debt refund ing bill was unsatisfactory both to tho administration and republican leaders of the House, but 1t was said that objections to 1t were not pressed because of the delay that would be involved in sending 1t to conference fer the ironing out of differences be- tween the two houses.
 Ohief Objection
 Chief objection centered on the Senate amendment requiring that the refunded obligations mature not later than June 1b, 1947, and that the mini- mum interest rate be +,25 per cent. Both the President and Secretary Mellon were represented as prefer ring free hand for the commission as to the life of tho bonds and the interest rate.
 The Secretary of the Treasury was said to have held, however, that these limitations would not be insur- mountable in the refunding of the debts of the larger nations and that if 1t should develop that they pre- vented the refunding of the debts of the smaller and newer nations the commission could seek additional au- thority from Congress.
 During the discussion in the House, Representative Mondell of Wyoming, the majority leader. and Mir. Fordney argued that the United States should not be In the position of imposing too great time limit on the debtor na tions or demanding what Mir. Mon dell called "a round fat interest rate" They said that personally they fla vored imposing no restrictions of the commission.
 Representative Garner of Texas, ranking democrat on the ways and means committee, and others on the minority side, objected to the Senate amendments as not going far enough in the matter of limiting authority as tu the time that interest pay ments should begin. Mir. Garner said it had developed that 1t had been the plan to defer the maturity of the bonds in the case of some countries for as much as 50 years.
 A separate and record vote was had on the amendment carrying the restrictions as to maturity date and minimum interest rate and it was agreed to 299 to 26. on a bipartisan vote.