Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-26
AMERICAN EXPERTS
DECLINE TO HEAD
PREPARATIONS BODY
Young Sends Informal Word
to Europe by Way of
S. Parker Gilbert.
DESIRE TO KEEP ALOOF
FROM DEBT CONTROVERSY
United States Firm in Insistence
on Keeping Loans Out
of Discussion.
BY HUGH O'CONNOR.

DI mum oSONNOh.
Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, January 26.-An infor-
NAL caution was dispatched to the allies
and Germany last night by owen D.
Young, chairman of the board of the
General Electric Co. He let them know
they must cease to consider an Ameri-
can for chairman of the international
commission of economic and financial
experts, among whom he has been in
vited to sit, with j. P. Morgan, "as
private American citizens" to make "a
full and final determination of what
Germany shall pay for the war"
The caution, which is authoritatively
understood to be in accord with Presi-
dent Coolidge's wishes, is being trans
mitted verbally by S. Parker Gilbert,
who sailed last night on the Paris. After
delivering this information to the allied
and German representatives, who will
be gathered in Paris, Mr.. Gilbert will
proceed to Berlin. He is to resume tenn
porarily the post of agent general for
reparationS, supervising las private
American citizen" the collection of
German payments for the allies under
the Dawes plan, as he has done since
the original international commission
of experts devised it, under the chair
manship of another American, four
years ago.
Confers Before Sailing.
Before sailing yesterday Mr.. Gilbert
called on MIR. Young for final discus
sion of the situation which will con-
front the experts nominated by France,
Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Japan
and Germany, when they meet in Paris
on February 8, together with the two
Americans, whom all have invited, as
officially stated, 1.-THE American Gov.
ernment having interposed no objec-
tion either to the invitation or the per-
sons invited" II
have laid upon Mr.. Parker the duty Of
breaking the news discreetly to the Al
lies and Germany that there are ex-
cellent reasons for abandoning their
expressed project Of making him chair
man.
The attitude of the United States
Government was explained very care
fully to MFR. Young at the White House
at that time, and 1t was matter CT
satisfaction that Mr.. Young understood
1t so closely.
An unofficial distinction is made be-
tween the original Dawes committee
and the present committee, which Mr..
Young proposed only last week to call
''the second Dawes committee"
Problems Have Changed.
The original Dawes committee was
commissioned ito balance the German
budget and give her a stable currency
at a time when the German mark had
ceased to have any value whatsoever. It
was regarded almost as a relief COM
mittee.
The present experts committee, how
ever, will be called upon to scale down
the total of Germany's obligations from
the figure of $4,000, ,000, 900, which was
first set in 1921. This expected reduc-
tion of Germany's debt will immedi-
ately cause the allies to ask If the
United States will not do as much fol
them as they have for Germany.
In order to maintain the American
position that cutting the total of Ger
many's obligations to the allies has
nothing TO do with total of allied
war obligations to the United States,
President Coolidge it is understood dis
approved the suggestion that MIR. Young,
an American, should be chairman of the
committee which did the German cut
ting.
The suggestion was brought here by
MIR. Gilbert and it was regarded as one
of the most important missions in
trusted to him by the allies and Ger
many. They admittedly foresee a de-
termined opposition between the French
plea that Germany is trying to evade
paying to the full limit of her capacity
and the German plea that the yearly
payments demanded under the Dawes
plan threaten her with economic ex-
tinction.
The allied and German reason for
wanting Mr.. Young as chairman was
his notable service in co-ordinating
views at the sessions of the original
Dawes committee four years ago and
because Mr. Young is practically the
only man of sufficient prestige and
recognized impartiality to be an influ-
ential chairman.
Because Mr.. Young would be such an
influential chairman, however, Presi-
dent Coolidge'S position was understood
to be that it would give rise to plea
for allied debt reduction eventually on
the ground that the German debt re-
duction had been largely influenced by
American judgment.
Last night, just before he sailed. Mr..
Gilbert said he did not know what the
experts commission would do now In
selecting a chairman.
His own function, he repeated. is
simply to hold himself in readiness in
Berlin to go to Paris and answer ques-
tions about Germany's economic life
as he has checked it up for the allies
during the last four years.
He was accompanied by his wife with
her maid and by his secretary, A. w
McC5ary