Evening star., 1932-11-23
PRESIDENT BARS
DEBT REDUCTION
Congress Chiefs FroWn on
Presidents Request for
Commission.
CONTINUED From First Page.)

postponement under the principles
heretofore laid down by this country.
"At the Lausanne Conference, which
has been referred to as precedent
for the suspension of payments during
those conferences, that postponement
was the natural result of the facts
which had been elaborately presented
during many months of previous in
quiry."
Mr. Hoover laid great stress on the
desirability of responding in friendly
way to the debtor nations asking for
a conference on the debts. He said
There is larger aspect to this
question of responding to an invitation
from a friendly nation to discuss,
through effectively authorized agents, a
problem of deep concern to both. The
discussion does not involve abandon
to be sound and right.
Could Present Views.
ION the other hand, the refusal would
afford others the opportunity to pre-
sent in conference their views and to
hear ours upon a question in which We
are both concerned and an insistance
upon dealing with cur neighbors at
arms length would be the negation Of
the very principles upon which rest
the hope of rebuilding a new. and
better world from the shattered rem
nants of the old"
The President, in his statement, re-
viewed the history of the foreign debts
and pointed out that from the time
Of the creation of these debts the United
States has insisted that they must be
treated as entirely separate from the
reparation claims against Germany. He
pointed cut also that this country has
made concessions to the foreign debtors
ranging from 80 per cent to 80 per cent
of the total amounts that were due.
If the President continues with his
proposal for the re-establishment Of the
old World War Debt Commission. OF
some new agency to discuss the debts
with Great Britain, France, Italy and
the other debtor nations, it will have
to be threshed out and passed upon by
the Congress, itself. Some of the par
ticipants in the conference today said
the matter had been discussed, but nc
conclusion had been reached thereon.
After talking over the debt problem
with the President, Speaker Garner
the Vice President ELECT; Senator Pat
Harrison, the ranking Democratic men,
ber of the Senate Finance Committee
Representative Rainey, the Democratic
leader Of the House, and the other
Democratic conferees went immediate
ly to the Mayhower Hotel to talk with
Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Presi-
dent-elect.
Roosevelt Hands Of"
Gov. Roosevelt, after two-hour con-
ference with the President last night
at the White House, let it be known
he did not intend to mix In the debl
problem until he has actually become
President March and that he did not
propose to attempt to dictate to the
Democratic members of Congress as te
their attitude in the present Congress
This stand dashed all hope of
Joint program on the debts to be spon'
sored by the President and the Presi'
dent-elect. Mr. Hoover will proceed II
his own way and with his own pro-
gram regarding the debts.
The general opinion OF the conferee;
at the White House today was thai
the foreign debtor nations would b.
able to meet and would meet the pay
ments due December Is.
Meanwhile, Poland's formal notice
| that she wants a pcstponement OF the
December Is payment and reconsidera-
| ton of the debts arrived at the State
Department. Ambassador Fihpowicz
told Secretary Stimson yesterday thai
such a move was contemplated.
Poland owes So, ,302 $50 on December
Is. OF this sum, $3,070,980 Is Interest
and the remainder principal. Poland!
entire indebtedness to the United
| States under existing funding agree
ments was $206,057,000 and of this
S22,646,297 has already been paid.
Some of tine conferees at the Whit,
House suggested that the Prcsiden
himself properly could receive sugges
tions of the debtor nations and make &
report directly to Congress rather thar
appoint a commission to do this work