Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-05-17
FUNDING OF DEBTS TO L. S.
!. BY EUROPEANS REMOTE
Nations Have Many Hurdles to Leap
Before Settlement With u. S.
Becomes an Actually.

premiership of France, a goal on
which Aristide BRAND. now foreign
minister, has his heart set. The
| jealousy between the two men Is
! notorious. This writer's confidential
advices from Europe say that the
real fight will develop by July. II
CaillauX does not succeed in re-creat-
ing confidence among the French peo-
pie there will he a cabinet crisis. and
BRAND expects to succeed Painleve
as prime minister on the ruins of
CaillauX failures. About July the
French have $500 900 900 Of francs
of internal bonds maturing. II rev
enue from taxation is not forthcom-
ing. infla ton seems inevitab bile. This
means chaos piled on chaos.
See Logical Payment.
French authorities in this country
are hopeful that the Caillaux- BRAND
project to pay America and Great
Britain out of German repara tons
gold, pro rata as the Germans pay
under the Dawes plan. will appeal TO
the United States. The French hold
that such proposition is entirely
logical. Under the so-caiied London
conference terms Of May g. 1921.
which were the basis of all negotia-
lions between the allied powers and
Germany up to the Dawes plan,
France was to receive 80 per cent of
a total of 1872 900 900 900 gold marks
or $3.50 0O0, 900 gold marks. What
Fra nee expects TO receive from Ger
man payments under the Dawes plan
is estimated by the French govern
ment at about 21.226, 200. 900 gold
marks. In other words. France con
tends that she accepted under the
Dawes plan a cut of nearly two-thirds
of what the original German repara
lions assessment fixed by the allied
powers assigned her.
The French argument. as ii has
been communicated TO the writer. is
that Fra agreed to this sweeping
slash in German reparations due her
because the Dawes plan was essen
tally an American plan. France
considered that she was making this
tremendous economic sacrifice in the
interest of European stabilize ton
mainly because America asked il.
France feels. therefore. that she is
preferring no unrea soma BILE expecta-
ton in hoping that the United States
Will think II funda me ntally fair to
let the French fund their American
debt in that ratio that the Germans
fund their reparations obligations to
Fra nee.
Moratorium Proposal.
Members of the World War Foreign
Debt Commission have let the French
know semi-officially that the latter
must not expect cancellation in any
form. The French know that Amer
lea expects payment of the principal
of the debt in full. France has been
told that any concession we make
must come from interest rates. mora
forums or other, payment terms !
-Amba SSa dor JuSsera nd's now famous |
Washington speech of December D. |
1924. revealed that France said to |
Secretary Melon that she needs "a
breathing spell"-that is. morato-
rum. Five years is the term that
has been mentioned in this connec-
ton.
D The French will find the United
States in accommodating mood.
though the administration has to
reckon with stern spirits in Congress
like Senator Borah before France or
any of our other debtors can be
granted concessiOnary funding terms.
If France asks for anything that
Great Britain did not get, that will
be another snag. But the point of
immediate Importance is that France
Is not likely to be able for consid-
cradle time to come to be at a point
where any of these concrete matters
can be tackled. Caillaux and Brian
have been APPOINTED by their cabinet.
Paris informs us. Ito study the in
terallied debt question in an attempt
to find an acceptable solution" The
scantiest knowledge Of French condi-
tons, as herein narrated. will con
vince anybody that in the laconic
statement just quoted lie the seeds
of delay interminab BILE.
Copyright. 1929