Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-29
NATIONS ALL SEEK
PEACE BANK SITE
Matter Will Be important
Question Before Committee
at Baden October 3.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.

Dy Cable TO The Star and Chicago Daily
News. CopyFight, 1929.
PARIS, September 2S-It now is
practically agreed, although nothing has
been officially decidcA that the COM
mittee of bankers who will organize
and retouch the statutes of the new
world bank, called by the Young plan
the Bank Of International Payments,
will meet at Baden, Germany, on Oc-
tober 3.
After a long wrangle between the
governments over possible meeting
place, only Belgium still contests this
choice. The Belgians want Brussels,
but French influence is now being used
to persuade them to accede to the gen.
eral will.
The importance of this meeting is
considered great, for 1t means that the
bank actually is about to be instituted,
ready to operate by November If posi-
BILE. The Young plan experts were so
convinced of the utility to the world of
the new institution that they originally
wanted to call 1t the peace bank" be-
cause, as the Germans have since point
ed out, 1t tends to create a financial al
lance of debtors and creditors through
out the world, thus emphasizing COM
mon interest and making wars less
likely.
Americans on Committee.
With the nomination of Mevin A.
Traylor and JaHkSon E. Reynolds as
American members of the committee,
participation by the United States in
the bank, although never greatly in
doubt, is assured. While the Federal
Reserve system itself will not be Off
cially represented as will other central
banks of the world, it will be repre-
oioI 1xy
of a desire to cooperate.
Perhaps the most delicate task OF
the committee will be the choice Of the
banks location. So SenSitively con-
sciouS are all the governments con-
cerned of the banks future prestige
and importance that every country
would like to have the institution with
in its own frontiers and there is core
spending jealousy at the thought that
it may be situated in some other coun-
try. The only thing agreed upon in
this connection so far is that the loca-
ton shall be some where In Europe.
Great Britain, through Chancellor
Snowden at The Hague conference on
the Young plan. tried to get support for
the location at London, but without
much success The British since have
been making lively efforts to persuade
the Germans, Japanese, Americans, and.
in fact, everybody, that London is the
logical place.
Each Has a FavOrite.
With the Americans the argument
is being used that the bank If in Lon
don could never become the instrument
of some future United States OF Eus
rope" and be used against the United
States of America. Britain'S second
choice seems to be Amsterdam, France,
knowing that Paris was out OF the
question, favored Brussels, with Laus-
anne as second choice. but might COM
promise on Basel. Germany knowing
Berlin to be out of the question, has
been doing lip service for London as
favor to the British, but actually seems
second choice. Belgium is standing
obstinately for Brussels with no second
choice. Italy is believed to favor Laus- |
anne. !
Japan and the United States have not |
vet declared themselves. Geneva, which !
is preferred by many League members,
has been discarded for fear the United /,
States would oppose. The French are !
putting forward as principles that no |
large country should be chosen and no |
city in which any central bank now Is
located, hoping thus to eliminate Lon
don and Zurich, as we'll as Brussels, and
swing the current OF opinion toward
their compromise choice, Basel, which, |
indeed, at the moment, seems to stand !
the best chance, with The Hague or |
Amsterdam next.
Americans May Decide.
AS the committee presumably will be |
presided over by either Traylor or Rey-
nolds, American opinion on the subject |
of location when finally expressed may |
we'll be decisive. The British, in case |
London is rejected, will try to have |
British president chosen, and in TINS |
NAV succeed. The name of Niemeyer |
has been mentioned in this connection.
1t is believed the board of directors.
plus the presidency, will finally COM
promise national representation about
as follows:
Great Britain, 4; United States, 4;
Germany, 3: France, 3; Belgium. z;
Italy, 2; Japan, Q; Jugoslavia, l; Ru-
slovakia, /, and. finally, three so-called
neutrals, probably Sweden. Holland and
Spain or some Latin American country,
making a total of 20, including the |
president. OF course, If the president
is not British, Great Britain'S repre-
sentation will be only three instead OF
four.
The second and even more important
question the committee must decide Is
go beyond the actual handling of repa-
rations The Young plan experts, as is
now we'll known, enviSaged bank
which should not only deal with all
phases of reparationS financing but
other international financial atfairS-ln
fact, be a sort of clearing house for the
sterilization of exchanges and even Ger
tain credit operations. This perspective,
curiously enough, seems to have given
IN, IN
same fear-namely, that some other
countries would get control and use
this immense potential power for private
political ends.
Fear Misuse of Bank.
Thus whereas some Americans have
feared European domination and misuse
of the bank, Europeans, with at least
equal nervousness, fear American domi-
nation, owing to the fact that the
United States is now the chief creditor
nation. Nervousness in certain states
and Denmark even tried during the re-
cent assembly at Geneva to get the
bank somehow under league control,
but this effort, on private cable advice
from j. p. Morgan to Louis Loucheur.
was vigorously combatted and finally
by France, Germany and
Great Britain, so as not to give undue
offense to the United States. Fears
remain, and the new COM
mittee will be expected to help alleviate
them to some extent.
At the outset the bank will certainly |
deal almost exclusively with reparations,
but very soon, even under this head, 1t
will be obligated to extend its activities,
invest funds it has on hand, and give
credits on future deliveries in kind
The tendency at present is to limit the
banks immediate program without
barring the way to almost
indefinite development according to