Evening star., 1925-08-19

Sc $50 900 for the tenth year. on the
eleventh year the payment on both
principal and interest for the post.
armistics debt Will be $9.772 500.
Accrued interest on the post rmi-
stice debts which had previously been
figured at ) per cent. is graded down,
under the agreement, 10 Az per cent
TO December Is, 1922, the date when
lower rates begin in other funding
agreements concluded by the Ameri-
can commission. From December 15
1922, to June Is. 1925, the effective date
of the new agreement, accrued inter
est Is figured 2t the rate of 3 per cent.
Payments Credited.
Belgium had been paying some in
terest during the past. at the rate of
5 per cent, which has been credited
to her under the new agreement. Up
to 1919, the year when Assistant SeCre.
tary of the Treasury Rathbone went
TO Europe with proposal to negotiate
for funding the debts owed this Gov
ernment. Belgium had paid interest in
fun on her loans. At that time there
was a proposal set forward while
Rathbone was in London to allow a
tentative three-year mora torium. The
negotiations were broken off, how
bone came back TO America.
Belgium thereafter kept paving in
terest on war stocks, turning over to
the United States a total up to and in
Guiding June Is. 1925, OF s7.400, 900 for
that item. Their bill for war stocks
was about $29 100000
The special terms accorded Belgium
were described in some quarters as
generous" and "lenient." and as hsv-
ing been granted not only on account
of the assurances made by President
Wilson at Paris. which We're not ap-
proved by the United States Senate.
but on account of the present eco
nomic situation of Belgium.
Trade Conditions Bad.
The balance OF trade and exchange
situation of the Little Kingdom were
explained as being in a poor condi-
ton" one OF the reasons for eXtenu
ating the terms of payment for the
past armistiCe loan, by making pay
ments lighter for the next few years.
The Belgian commission has been
insistent" said the official statement
in referring to the Wilson phase OF
the negotiations, that the United
States should accept the basis for set
tlement of the prearmistice debt of
S171,7 900 which was accepted by
President Wilson at the peace confer
ence. The arrangement contemplated
at that time was that the German
government should be substituted for
Belgium as the debtor for the pre-
armistice debts. This proposal was
accepted by the Belgian government
as a fundamental part OF other ar
rangements made by her under the
Treaty of Versailles and was also ac-
cepted by the other creditors whose
adva noes amounted TO over SSOO.00O
O00." These creditors, 1t was unoffi-
cially explained later, were Great
Britain and France.
"At that time" continued the state
ment. "it was considered by all the
Belgian creditors that the pre-armi-
stice advances to Belgian occupied
entirely different position from other
financial obligations between any of
the countries in the war. Although
the plan was accepted by the Ameri-
can representatives at Paris and act
ed upon by all the other parties to it,
the United States did not, of course,
become legally bound, as the Ver-
sailles treaty with Germany was not
ratified Nevertheless. the United
States Debt Commission considers
that while no legal obligation rests
upon the United States in the matter,
there does continue a weighty moral
obligation as a result of assurances
given which entirely differentiates
this sum from all other debts due
the United States from foreign coun-
tries.
Cite Germany's Position.
Provision was made under the
Dawes plan that per cent of the an
nual German reparations payments
are set aside, after satisfying certain
priorities (of which the payment of
cost of the army of occupation of the
United States is included as one of
such priorities) for service to all ma.
tions on the Belgian pre.armistice
debt All the other countries except
the United States have accepted their
proportion of the sum thus payable
as consummation of the plan ac-
cepted by President Wilson, and Bel
gium has been relieved as a debtor to
these other nations.
THE United States debt commission
has not been able to accept the Bel
gian proposal that either Germany di-
rectly or the proportion of the 5 per
cent payable to Belgium under the
Dawes plan and applicable to the
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