Evening star., 1925-01-07
CHURCHILL URGES
PARLEy TO TACKLE
ALL DEBT TANGLE
Proposal for General Confer
enCe Follows Difference With
French Stand.
NEED FOR HELP OF US.
Is SEEN BY MINISTERS
Financial Leaders Opening Ses-
sion Reveals Full Ex-
tent of Mix-Up.
BY the Associate Press.

BY the Associated Press.
PARIS. January THE conference
of allied finance ministers, called to
consider the distribution of German
reparation payments and kindred sub
jects, opened it's series of meetings to-
day with a session lasting 40 minutes.
The proceedings were confined to an
exchange of formal addresses, the
representatives present, among whom
was included an American diplomatic
delegation. being welcomed by Etien-
ne Clementel, French minister of fl
nance, to whose address Winston
Churchill, British chancellor of the
exchequer, replied suitably. The dele
gates adjourned shortly before 4
o'clock until pm. tomorrow, to give
the members time to study the mass
of reports and documentary points of
views submitted by the various coun-
tries
Experts who have been active in
work under the Dawes plan were
given the task of drafting a program
to be submitted to the conference to-
morrow. They will recommend the
procedure to be followed and outline
generally what questions should be
bahcA up lITSl
Welcomes Delegates.
Finance Minister Clementel of
France. in welcoming the delegations,
said he was glad to see among them
number of men who had aided in
solving previous problems
Il know by experience" said he
that together we will find unani-
nous solutions for the problems con-
fronting us, and that we are going
to be able to complete the work done
in London several months ago. At
that time we established an accord
with Germany for a new regime of
reparatiOnS payments.
Our common debtor since then is
certain as to her obligations to us
obligations which up TO this time she
Furthermore has executed punctu-
ally. Now several elements of uncer-
tainty remain concerning the dIstri-
button of the German payments
among creditor states"
NJ. Clementel said that the work
before the conference was not SIM
pie. But, in reality" he said, "in
this tangle of rights and interests
there are only three or four prob
lens that dominate. All the rest is
detail"
Private Talks Feature.
1t was not the public sessions of
the conference. however, but the Sc
ries of private talks between the
principal delegates in an effort to find
a way out of the mix-up into which
interallied affairs have worked, that
was the principal feature of the first
days proceedings. The most con-
spicuous of these talks was that be-
tween Winston Churchill, British
chancellor of the exchequer, and FL
nance Minister Clementel of France,
who discussed the general aspects of
the interallied debts, as most of the
delegates to the conference agree
that a solution of the other allied
problems hangs on the solving of the
debt problem.
Prof. de Stefani, the Italian finance
minister, conferred with Premier Her
riot of France. while the American
and other delegations held consulta-
tions preparatory to the conference,
taking up the different points in
which the United States is especially
interested.
The original idea, that the present
conference was to be chiefly for a
general accounting on reparations
since the last distribution of the pro-
ceeds, seems gradually to be giving
way to a conviction that the whole
interallied situation must be cleared
up.
All Take Same View.
Whenever the question of distribu-
tlon Of receipts under the Dawes plan
is mentioned the subject of the inter-
allied debts is inevitably brought in
The British say they must have
enough to payt the United States
France declares she must have
!,
Great Britain and the smaller allied
debtors insist they cannot pay be-
cause of various conditions. All of
them, with the exception of Great
Britain, want a larger share of rep
arations than now IS attributed to
them.
Thus the question always expands
over the whole ground of fnterallied
relations and brings the discussion up
to the greatest obstacle-the impos-
sibility of getting the United States
into a debt conference.
When the conference met this aft
ernoon it was plain that some of
the delegations were still unprepared
TO grapple with the situation, and
adjournment until tomorrow was
therefore decided upon. This will
give the leading delegates another
whole day in which to negotiate out
side the conference.
In addition to Mr.. Churchill, those
who spoke at the conference session
In reply to NJ. ClementeTs speech
were Fiscount ~Ishii of Japan, Amer
lean Ambassador Herrick and Prof.
de Stefani.
highly important talk between
Finance Minister Clementel of France
and Winston Churchill British chan
cellor of the exchequer, held today
in advance of the opening of the
finance minister's conference, served
once more TO bring out the tendency
of all European debt discussions, no
matter what their beginning, to veer
toward Washington before they have
progressed very far.
Communique on the subject is
sued after the meeting. threw little
light on the discussion, merely de-
Claring there had been an unofficial
exchange of views on the general
aspects of the interallied debts. 1t
is understood. however, that Mr..
Churchill opened the discussion by
setting forth the well known British
standpoint that Great Britain must
receive from her war debtors sums
equivalent to those she must pay the
United States.