Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-20
LONDON OPTIMISTIC
AS STATESMEN CONFER
ON GERMAN SITUATION

Continued From First Page)
stimson and Secretary of the Treasury
Mellon.
The Secretary Of State, who arrived
at the prime minister's residence at
10 am, remained closeted with Mr..
Macdonald for some time. Meanwhile
some of Mr.. MacDonald's own mini
sters, reporting for a special cabinet
session, were kept waiting.
The preliminary talks took place IN
an atmosphere Of much more optimism
that a solution to the crisis would be
found than had been thought likely
when the seven-power meeting was
called last week.
Overnight developments in Paris,
where it was announced France and
Germany henceforth would seek to col
laborate in the fields of politics and
economics, we're looked upon as making
easier the task of the powers OF render
ing aid to Germany and preventing the
spread Of her economic troubles to til
rest Of Europe.
Cabinet In Special Session.
As Mr.. Stimson left with Ray Ather-
ton. American charge d. affairs, after
his conference with the prime minister.
the special cabinet meeting began with
every available minister present for dis
cussion of the terms Of the agenda TO
be placed before the delegates OF the
seven powers at their meeting.
Mr. Macdonald went to the cabinet
meeting from an abbreviated week end
at Chequers, where his visitors included
Montagu Norman, governor OF the Bank
of England, and Sir Frederick Lelth-
Ross, deputy controller OF finance TO
the treasury.
Mr.. Macdonald, Mr. Henderson, and
J. H. Woods, representing Chancellor
Snowden, will meet the Belgian dele.
cation arriving at about o'clock and
will remain 1t the railway station until
the group from Paris come In hall an
hour later.
Stimson Cordial But Cautious.
At the end of their conference Mr..
Macdonald had luncheon WIN Ml.
Stinson and Mr. Mellon, but before the
luncheon the Americal delegates met
the press correspondents for few min
uteS.
Mr.. Stimson was cordial but cautious
and declined to answer questions as 70
the program Of this evenings confer
ence. Mr.. Mellon had even less to say.
Both were particularly retlcent in
commenting on that part OF last nlgnt s
French communique which mentioned
political appeaSement' as proVlSo
for financial relief to Germany.
Just use the phrase anyway" said
Mr.. Mellon. nobody will know what it
means and it will be all right
The statesmen Of seven great powers
here for the conference were charged
with the task Of reconciling conflicting
national interests into a program OF
rescue capable of pulling Germany free
of economic catastrophe, and, at the
same time, of lesSening financial stress
| throughout the world.
Results Seen This Week.
Britain prepared for the meeting
simply. For the first asSemblage OF the
statesmen, no elaborate ceremonial was
planned. Business first was the order
Of the day.
An atmosphere of optimism was such
that in diplomatic circles it was pre-
dicted the conference would finish its
job this week
This conference was in large part
based upon the elimination from the
program of the troublesome question Of
political guarantees asked by France
! from Germany in exchange for her par
ticipation in financial aid.
It was based, too, upon the knowledge
that the ministers taking part in the
deliberations were aware OF the neces-
sity Of prompt action to relieve all
Europe.
A third factor was the Franco-Ger-
man agreement, reached at preliminary
negotiations in Paris, that both France
and Germany would do everything they
could to create conditions favorable to
effective collaboration between them In
both the political and economic fields.
The nations taking part in the con-
ference are the United States, Great
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Bel
GUM and Japan.
Mr.. Mellon and Mr. Stimson arrived
In London from Paris yesterday. Hugh
Gibson, Ambassador to Belgium and
the third member Of the American dele
cation, was at the station to meet them.
Envoy Represents Japan.
The French delegation, headed by
! Premier Laval; the Germans, headed
by Chancellor Bruening; Foreign Mini
ster Grandi of Italy and Premier
Renkin Of Belgium reached London
shortly before the opening of the meet
ing. Japan Is being represented by her
Ambassador In London.
Although such problems as the pro-
posed Austro-G German Customs Union,
disarmament and Germanys west
pocket battleship" program were I'M
derstood to have been barred from the
agenda, 1t was expected that they would
be talked over informally by the
participants, and that important re-
suits might follow from that discussion.
Only the ministers were invited to
the, opening session, but when the full
conference meets tomorrow morning at
the foreign ONCE the financial experts
win be called In.
| These experts have been In London
| since last week, when they met to find
a formula to reconcile the Young plan
and President Hoover war debt plan.
Their meeting was superseded by the
| ministerial conference.
Although reports from Paris declare
that Herr Bruening, in his talk with
French statesmen, did not mention the
amount Of credit he wants for Ger
many without delay, it was believed in
London that about $685. 900 would
be found sufacient for immediate
needs. This would be approximately
one-half of the drainage of short-term
credits from Germany during the last
feuv ueekR