Evening star., 1925-11-04
FOUR COMMITTEES
NAMED TO WEIGH
ITALIAN DEBT PLAN
Personnel Is Kept Secret.
First Meeting to Be Held
This Evening.
NO HINT Is REVEALED
OF NATURE OF WORK
One Group Believed to Be Prepar-
ing Reply to Italys Original
Presentation.

! PRESENTATION.
! Shrouded behind a heavy veil of
! secrecy negotiations for funding the
Italian debt Of more than $1,000
I 100000 to the United States today
. were resolved into meetings of sub
committees representing each govern
ment
This action was taken at a meet
! ing between the Italian and Amer
! lean commissions at the Treasury
| this morning, when four subcommit
tees, two from each government were
named.
Will Meet Tonight.
In the brief and formal announce
ment made afterwards by Secretary
J winston of the American commits
! sion, in conjunction with Don
| Grandi. undersecretary of state for
| Italy, 1t was announced the subcom-
mittees will meet tonight and tomor-
row morning.
! The American commission also will
{ meet tomorrow morning, it was an
! nounced and the next joint session
] or the two commissions will be held
. when the joint SubcommitteeS are
ready TO report
These announcements represented
the sum and substance of what was
forthcoming from the joint session
/ this morning. which lasted more than
! an hour and a half.
! Personnel Kept Secret.
Efforts to learn the number and
: names of the membership of subcon1-
mites met with failure. as Mr. Win
ston said it had been agreed not TO
I Va q haC ijp nst tlr,.
any information forthcoming as To
4 the nature of the subject matter
! which will be considered by the sub
mittee.
/ 1t was explained. however, on be
half of both governments. that there
Will be two separate meetings tonight
and tomorrow of the subcommittee.
/ one subcommittee from each nation
! being represented at each meeting.
The Italians, it is known, have laid
the case for Italy's capacity TO pay
. before the American commission, and
/ there is this voluminous documentary
. evidence on hand to be considered.
! Whether the American commission
! gave any kind of reply to Italy today
| on her original presentation last
! Monday afternoon was not known.
! 1t was Conjectured in some quarters
that one of the sets of subcommittee
might have been assigned the sub
: 1ect of the presentation Of Italy in
/ Its capacity to pay, but there was
no official indication of any kind as
: TO what actually had been done.
Fear Premature Publicity.
/ The unusual secrecy thrown about
! the meetings today was understood to
have been brought about largely by
results of the recent Franco-American
negotiations which ended in failure
{ Nor that the GOVarnn0enf
means TO intimate that the failure
was due to information made public
: b. the French legation, but that the
/ difficulties developing in that direction
during the French negotiations were
! of such nature that it is desired TO
obviate 4 recurrence.
! In unofficial circles there was much
speculation as TO when Italy may
make a formal offer to pay and how
much that offer will be. The figure
that has been going the rounds of
unofficial circles is $50, 600 900, said to
be the estimated maximum which
Italy might agree to pay annually
, over d period of So years, which is
the amortization time of other settle
ments. There has been no official con
! tirmation from any quarter. however.
of this figure. and there We're reliable
indications that no kind of definite
offer had been made up to this after
noon.
Figure Thought Low.
| The figure of $30,0O0,000 a year
would. according to some estimates,
cover the entire principal of the debt
with some $500 100000 interest. This
! would be, however, far below the
! terms agreed upon with any other
nation.
| The economic assistance which Italy
/ has suggested could be rendered by
America in three separate ways,
through more imports, more employ
ment of Italian labor and heavier in
vestmentS in productive Italian enter
prises. was understood to have occu-
pied considerable attention in official
circles. Such economic help, however.
it was pointed out in some quarters,
would be more under the control of
the laws of supply and demand and
under the regulation of the American
Government. In view however, of
the recent effectiveness of the Ameri-
can Governments unoffiCially frown-
ing on more loans to France from
! private sources, 1t was pointed out
! that the connection between the
American Government and American
business is so close as to enable some
/ policies to be carried out without the
/ necessity and compulSion of law.
Italian Plea Strong.
| There seems to be no doubt that the
Italians have presented a gloomy pic
i ture of their ability to meet heavy
obligat ton to America. They have eX-
| pressed it in language which speaks of
/ the great difficulty which Italy has III
! creating by her own efforts enough
! surplus wealth to meet her war debts.
! Economic help from wealthy America
/ through business channels would be of
great assistance they explain.
Upon such d I<esentation of Italy'S
| case, the negotiatNns have embarked
in a direction which up to this after
noon was entirely circumscribed by
! the meager announcements after this
mornings meeting.
Progress in negotiations is under
stood to.be considerably slowed up on
account of the necessity of transla-
tions. The official interpreter is Sec
retary Bonaschi of the Italian Cham
Der of Commerce of New York City.
Entertained at White House.
President Coolidge entertained for
I the Italian commission last night at
the White House, inviting also the
! American commission, cabinet officers
and leaders of the Senate and House