The Washington times., 1925-08-06
j. s. GROUP HAS
DEBT PARLEY
MEETING
American Commissioners Get
Ready for Negotiations
With BeIgians
81 GEoRGE r. HOLMEs

The American Debt Funding
Commission, charged with the task
OF collecting the seven billion dol
lars still owed the United States
BY European governments on war
loans. met at the Treasury today
for the first time in many months.
Today's meeting was charac-
terized as q preliminary step in the
series Of international negotiations
that the commissioners hope viii
be more or less continuous with
Belgian, French, and Italian ENJOYS
until the debts are completely
adjudicated.
Tomorrow the commission will
hear Belgium's plans for discharg-
ing her debt OF approximately
1881 900, 900. The Belgian mission,
headed by ex-Premier Theunis, Is
due to reach the Capital tonight.
The Belgians, according to infor-
nation reaching members Of the
commission, are coming to Wash
ington prepared to set up two
separate and distinct pleas for
leniency in the adjustment of their
debt. They are:
That President Wilson, on his
visit to Brussels in 1919, and again
at Versailles, promised the Belgian
government he would take up the
matter OF 80 foregoing" (canceling)
Belgian indebtedness with Con-
gress, because Of Belgium's sacri-
fees In the world war.
That, II the United States r.
insistent upon complete payment,
q differentiation should be made
between money advanced during
hostilities and money secured as
reconstruction loans after the
armistice, on the theory that the
money advanced during hostilities
was for "a common purpose" and
virtually, so many
shells and airplanes.
In this connection, the fact that
ex-Premier Theunis was selected 10
head ReIgium's ENJOYS is regarded
as significant, for 1t was Theunis,
the wartime premier Of Belgium,
who was intimately associated with
President Wilson at Versailles. It
was to Theunis, in fact, that Mr..
Wilson Is purported to have offered
amelioration OF Belgian indebted
ness.
When and ii. as expected, the
Belgian commissioners set forth
these arguments, they viii receive
a courteous, but final. rejection
That much can be stated officially.
It will be pointed out in the first
instance that, even granting the
of the war Presidents re-
ported conversation with M.
Theunis, he was entirely without
to make any such com
And. in the second place.
It will be pointed out that money
loaned is money loaned, irrespective
Of time and place, and no differeIl-
tiation can be made.
The American commissioners, In.
diyidually and collectively, how
ever, are disposed toward very
liberal" terms for Belgium. They
will insist that the settlement gen
orally follow the terms Of the Brit
ish settlement. but concessions be-
yond the British plan probably can
and will be made.
None of the American commits
sioners are favorably inclined
toward any extended moratorium.
They believe that payments, no
matter how small, should begin at
once.
Today's meeting Of the commits
sion was the first that has been
held since December ] last year.
The resignation Of Eliot Wads-
worth as secretary was accepted
and the the appointment Of Garrard
B. Winston, Undersecretary of the
Treasury, as his successor con.
firmed.
Not only the Belgian debt was
discussed today, but the French and
Italian as well.