Evening star., 1925-10-01
dts All Over,'' - Says
Caillaux to One
of Colleagues.
DEPARTURE PLANS
REMAIN UNCHANGED
Hope of Agreement Still
Is Held for Meeting
This Afternoon.

F1atly rejecting the latest French
proposal to refund their four-billion.
dollar debt, the American Debt Com.
mission today made a counterproposal
understood in we'll informed circles to
be entirely different from anything
yet considered: a tentative five-year
plan to be reopened at the end of that
period.
The American plan was said in un-
official circles to have asked the
French to pay S40,000,00O a year for
hve years. At the end of this five-year
time, the American proposal would
provide for reopening the entire ques-
tion of funding the French debt.
French Foreign Minister Caillaux
received rejection of his latest offer
and the new American counterproposal
in a brief session of less than 10
minutes today and Immediately went
to the Hamilton Hotel for a session
with his commission.
Said It's All OF.
In a serious mood, he was known
to have placed his arm about one
of his close associates and said: well,
my boy, it's all off,
The French We're blue this after
noon, without mistake. The French
liner France sails from New York
tomorrow night. carrying Caillaux
back to Paris. No one could predict
shortly after noon today whether ne
gotiations would survive the crisis
The American proposal was made,
1t was understood, as a last resort
in order to give the visiting COM
mission an entirely fresh matter 10
consider, and with a view to allowing
them the opportunity of postponinG
for five years the funding of all their
debt.
In five years. 1t is believed the
Americans feel France will be better
prepared to estimate accurately her
future capacity to pay. In that time
it was pointed out today by those
close to the situation It will be known
better than now. how we'll The Dawes
plan will work, in affording to France
her reparation payments from Ger
many. 1t is known that the uncer-
tainty surrounding future payments
from Germany is a large factor In the
French hesitancy to go further in
their offer. zs-s --1--r
No Hopeful Signs.
There is also the pending question
now of a security pact among Euro
pean powers which will be decided
and be in a more definite state at
the end of five-year period. Some
hope was expressed in unofficial
American circles that the French
might consider the entirely different
American offer as n basis for further
consideration From the French,
however, early this Afternoon there
were no hopeful signs. No French
opinion would hazard n guess as to
the outcome.
Following the emphatic denial at the
White House that any settlement had
been reached, negotiations continued
this morning. and a joint meeting be-
tween the two commissions was set
for o'clock this afternoon. when an
answer by the French is expected.
The French offer, refused in a short
joint session of less than 10 minutes at
the Treasury Department.. had been
presented by French Finance Minister
CaillauX yesterday at joint meeting
of French and American subcommit.
tees of the two commissions. NJ. Gail
lauX had offered $40, 900. 900 annually
for the first five years, $50, 100000 for
the next seven years and an average
annual payment over the amortization
period of 62 years of not more than
800, 900, 900. The French also de-
manded a safeguard or security clause.
Whole Plan Rejected.
This whole proposition of the
French, it was explained, was rejected
as unacceptable by the American COM
mission, including the safeguard
clause. This security clause had been
emphasized as practically a vital fac.
tor in any agreement which the
French would accept.
The nature OF the American counter
proposal was not revealed, but 1t was
understood to embody something of
an entirely different nature from the
line of negotiations previously fol-
lowed. One indication was that the
American offer might be considered
a complete change. What this meant,
however, was not made clear.
1t was emphasized, however, that
following the conference with Presi
dent Coolidge the American commits
sioners had found the whole French
proposal unacceptable, including the
security clause.
Finance Minister CaillauX. so far as
the Americans know. has not altered
his determination to leave Washington
tomorrow morning to embark for
France from New York on the French
line ship France. This approach
yesterday noon have been well-nigh
hectic. 49,.
There was no one who could safely
predict today whether an agreement
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