Evening star., 1923-01-27
Settlement Held Up,
by Congress, Is
British View.
EXECUTIVES AGREED,
DECLARES FINANCIER
Sees No Chance for Alter.
native Plan to Get
o. X. Now.
By the Associated Press.

\ By the Associated Press
| SOUTHAMPTON, January 27.-Stan-
ley Baldwin, chancellor of the, ex-
chequer, returning on the Olympic to-
day from his debt mission to Wash
ington. told newspaper men that set
tlement of the debt question In the
United States was in the hands Of
Congress as the representatives OF the
people and that this situation consti-
| tuted the great difference between
America and England.
Explaining that in America "you
may have an executive which is will
| ing to do a great deal for you, but
| cannot because Of difficulties" en-
countered in Congress, Mr.. Baldwin
said
| I'm the early days the Secretary for
| the Treasury could undoubtedly have
arranged terms with the British gov
| ernment, but the situation now Is
complicated because the matter is in
| the hands Of the American Congress.
You are not settling in America with
/ the cabinet at one end or with busi-
| ness men at the other. You are set
! tling with Congress. which represents
the people of America from one md OF
| the country to the other. In England.
| IL any terms are agreed on regarding
the debt, the government takes the
responsibility"
Must Reckon With Congress.
"On the other hand, what the execu-
tives In America have to do Is to en-
deavor to force anything of this sort
through Congress. and in doing SO
they may be beaten"
| The chancellor said he wondered
whether the position which obtains
regarding the debt Is as clear in
America as in this country" Centtnu-
ing. he asserted:
THE great difference between
America and this country Is that the
in ths hands OF politicians. We are
| bound, in regard to that debt, in the
most stringent bonds you can possibly
| imagine"
MI. Baldwin described Americans
as "a country, not an urban, people.
They have men Of our way OF
thinking in the eastern states" he
said. but that does not cut any Ice
| at all with regard to the other parts
of America
Sees Lack of Understanding.
IF you look at the Senate. you will
| find that the majority of the mem
bers come from the agricultural and
pastoral communities and they do not
realize the existing position with re-
gard to the meaning OF the interna-
tional debt.
THE bulk of the people in America
have no acquaintance with 1t. Great
Britain lives on international trade,
| but In America this Is not so. The
people in the west merely sell wheat
and hogs and other produce and take
no further interest In connection with
the international debt or interna-
tional trade.
"They are in very much the same
frame of mind we used to be IN re-
| garding reparations, when large
| number of people IN this country
\ bags of gold every Saturday night
| until the money was paid up: a
! great many people in America think
that all we have to do is send money
over there.
"The debt can only be funded on
such terms as can be got through
! Congress-, and that is the root or
! the difficulty with which we now are
faced"
Not to Return to United States.
| Mr.. Baldwin asserted that he might
say more, but was obliged to discuss
the question with the cabinet. Asked
| whether he would return to America,
he said:
at should like 20 do so. because I
have been well received there, but
shall not be able to return, an /
| have my own work to do at home"
Mr.. Baldwin said that unless an ar
rangement was arrived at by which
an agreement between the American
debt funding commission and the
British government was approved and
| ratified by Congress before March 4
! the matter would be deferred until
| the end of the year. There was no
being put forward previous to March
| 4. because the funding commission in
America had put forward the only
| proposals which were thought to
have a chance of acceptance by Con-
"They have gone to the limit in what
"if no agreement is come to now
/ the whole thing falls to the ground
Mr. Baldwin added.
| "'The American commission was ap-
pointed and closely tied up by Con-
gress-not given more favorable
familiar with. Those terms are per-
fectly impossible, for they would
mean that we would pay something
| like per cent
Sees NO Better Terms.
Mr. bdl0WiH Bdlu AO OcllCVcu IHO
American people thought they had
been generous in their offer. but the
English people did not take that view.
"Unless Congress agrees to what
the commission already has proposed
we shall have to continue paying
what we are paying now." he went ,
on. "It is q matter of opinion
whether 1t will be possible to find all
this money for many years to come"
Mr.. Baldwin intimated that unless the
debt were funded Great Britain
would continue paying per cent In
terest. I'VE are pledged up to the
hilt to pay It and also to pay back
Questioned by English correspon-
dents whether a stage had been
reached when according to the pres
ent outlook no better terms could
! be hoped for. Mr. Baldwin replied: :
Yes, think that Is so."
On the commissions terms of 31s
per cent. Mr.: Baldwin pointed out,
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