Evening star., 1923-10-08
LLOYD GEORGE NOTE
TO WILSON PRINTED
Premier. in 1920 Explained
Move for AII-Around
Debt Cancellation.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, October S.-The Sunday
Express tomorrow is printing a
hitherto unpublished letter on the
question of the interallied debts.
which David Lloyd George, as Brit
ish prime minister, wrote to Presi-
dent Wilson under date of August 3,
1920. The Express claims that an
agreement was about to be reached
whereby the French government
would agree to the scaling down OF
the German reparatlons. PROVIDED
Great Britain and the United States
remitted a great part OF Frances
debts to them.
That the American government was
ready to accept this plan, says the
paper, was shown by the fact that
the chancellor of the exchequer. Au-
stem Chamberlain, and Albert Rath-
bone, representing the American
Treasury Department. dropped the
negotiations then going on for the
separate payment of the British debt
to America.
Says Baldwin Erred.
The newspaper argues that Premier
Baldwin might have made similar
settlement, but that by his arrange
ment for the refunding of the Brit
ish debt to America he threw away
the only weapon he had to persuade
France to make a settlement in Eu-
rope. and also threw away the pos
sibility of getting much better terms
from America. and the possibility OF
obtaining part of Frances debt to
Great Britain. Mr.. Lloyd Georges s
letter is quoted by the Express as fol-
lows:
"The British and French govern
Suents have been discussing during
the last four months the question of
giving fixity and definiteness to Ger
many's reparation obligations. The
British government has stood stead
fly by the view that is was vital that
Germany's liabilities should be fixed
at figure which it was within the
reasonable capacity of Germany TO
pay, and that this figure should be
liked without delay, because the re-
construction of central Europe could
not begir r.o- could the allies them
selves raise money on the strength
of Germaay's obligation TO pay them
reparations until he l;&Ji. tics had
been exactly defined.
Stand of MiIlrrand.
"After great diiff. uli!tS with his
own people, VI. Millecana then
French premier) fouu1 himself able
TO accept this view, but he pointed
odt that 1T was impossible for ffranre
TO agree to accept anything less than
It was entitled to under the treaty
unless it's debts to it's allies and as
soctateS In the war We're treated in
the same way.
"This declaration appeared to the
British government to be eminently
fair, but after careful consideration
they came to the conclusion that 1t
was impossible to remit anY1p part of
what was owed to them by France
except as part and parcel OF an alK'
round settlement Of the interallied'
Indebtedness. = = s
"I need not go into the reasons,
which led to this conclusion, which
must be clear to you. But the prin-'
cipal reason was that British public
opinion would never support n one
sided arrangement at its sole, expense.
and that if such one-sided arrange-
ment was made it could not fail to
estrange and eventually enibftter the
relations between the American and
British peoples, with calamitous re
suits to the future of the world.
Accordingly, the British, govern
ment has informed the French gov
ernment that 1t will agree, to, any
equitable arrangement for reduction
or cancellation of the intsralliedc in
debtedness, but that such arrange
ment must be one whichs sappliess all
around. =. - ri
Asks for Advice. -
'"The question is one of such i'm
portance to the future of Europe, and
indeed to the relations between the
allied and associated powers, that /
SnOulQ very W6ICOTlG any au-
vice which you might feel yourself
able to give me as to the best method
of securing that the whole problem
could be considered and settled by
the United States government in con-
cert with Its associates at the earliest
possible moment that the political
situation in America makes it pos
sible.
There is one other point which I
should like to add. When the British
government decided that it could not
deal with the question of the debts
owed to 1t by it's allies except as part
and parcel of an al1-round arrange
ment of inter-allied debts. the chan
oellor of the exchequer told Mr.. Rath-
bone that he could not proceed any
further with the negotiations which
they had been conducting together
with regard to postponement of the
payment of interest on the funding
of Great Britain'S debt to America
"I should like to make it plain that
this is due to no reluctance on the
part of Great Britain to fund its
debt, but solely to the fact that it
cannot bind itself by any arrange
ment which would prejudice the
working of any inter-allied arrange
ment which may be reached in the
future"
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