Evening star., 1926-05-08
DEBT PACT ACTION
UPT0FRENCHF|RST
Both Countries Are Delaying,
With Chances in Congress
Better Next Fall.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

After you my dear CASTOR" as the
French character of a famous cartoon
used to say--this expresses the atti
tude now assumed by the Congress
Of the United States toward the
French Parliament in the matter of
approving the recent settlement of
war debts made by the American
Debt Funding Commission and Sen
ator Henri Berenger, the French
envoy.
Cable dispatches from Paris have
said the French Parliament would
wait for action by the American Con
gress Now leaders of the House, par
ticularly members of the ways and
means committee, who are in charge
of the legislation, say they intend
to wait for the French Parliament
to act first.
Better Chance In Fall.
The truth is the American Congress
Is nearing the end of its session, and
any debate on the French settlement
is bound to be prolonged and might
keep Congress here we'll into the Sum
mer, with good chances of defeat in
the Senate. If the administration
waits until the Autumn when senti-
ment will have had a chance to crys-
tallize, and when the congressional
elections are out of the way, the
chances Of favorable vote would be
improved.
Naturally the French parliamentary
leaders, who want TO get the agree
ment ratified, would like to use as an
argument that the American Con-
gress had already approved the pro-
posal. Their experience with the
American Congress in the matter of
ratifying international agreements
has not been happy one, particular
ly when France took 1t for granted
that the Versailles treaty would be
ratified when once it had been signed
by the executive branch of the Gov
ernment. There is no doubt, there
fore, that a French ministry would
have a good argument if it could say
that an agreement which has already
been approved by the American Con-
gress deserves ratification by France,
because it might be doubtful whether
another agreement could be pushed
through Congress.
Up to French First
But it looks as If the French will
have to act first after all. and the
American Government will then apply
the foregoing argument to the Amer
lean Congress, contending that the
agreement having passed the French
Parliament it ought to be accepted
by the Senate and House here as
an act of international goodwill.
Representative Burton has intro
duced the bill in the House and Mr..
Smoot has brought an identical meas
ure into the Senate. After allowance
is made for certain cash payments
the amount of the French debt is
fixed at $4,025 ,000, 900, which is COM
puted as follows:
Principal of obligations held for
cash advanced under Liberty bond
acts, 1888, ,405,0 ,070.
Accrued and unpaid interest at ~
per cent until December Is, 1922, was
| $445, ,O66,027 These two items total
| $3,378,471 .097.
Principal of obligations for surplus
war supplies purchased on credit,
| $407, ,341 ,145.
Interest from last interest payment
date prior to December 10. 1922, to
that date, $6,324,940 making a total
of $413.666,0s5.
Interest from December Is. 1922, to
June Is, 1925, minus payments of
about $51 ,O00, 900, make the net in
debtedness as of June 10, 1925, $4.025,-
3S6,6S6, which is to be funded into
bonds and paid over a period Of 81
years.
Copyright. 1920