Evening star., 1932-04-06
DANUB|AN PARLEY
OPENS WITH LOAN
Joint AngIo-FrenCh Action
Taken to Prevent Collapse
of Austria and Hungary.
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
trade with the Danubian region is
negligible, this hits Germany and Italy,
principal customers of the Danublan
countries, and would further isolate
them and create real barrier to a
possible Austria German "AnsGAluss."
Short Term Loans.
s. Immediate short-term loans should
be granted to Austria and Hun
gary. Such loans are to be guaranteed
by the governments in the lending cen
ters.
6. Further sterilization is necessary
to bring about the consolidation of all
foreign loans to the Danubian countries,
governmental, private and public
This is to be achieved by listing all
the loans made to these countries, COM
pairing them with commodity price
levels in force on the dates the loans
were made-and adjusting actual loan
values to the price levels ruling for the
same commodities today. This lessons
the burden of the real debt, which must
eventually be paid in real commodities.
In effect it means that the Danubian
countries should go off the present gold
standard and then come back on it at
a lower basis.
On this point the British wanted the
Danubian countries to suspend the gold
standard altogether as the best means
of escaping their present embarrass-
ments and lowering costs of production.
The French, anxlously guarding the
principle of gold, agreed to revision, but
only provided a new gold standard
operating on lower gold basis was
enforced at once.
Resent Finance Control.
To achieve such imitation. it was pro-
posed to establish strict international
control over both finances and budgets
of the Danubian countries. This
budgetary control seems to form super
vision which certainly CZechoslovakia
and probably Jugoslavia as well as the
other Danubian countries strongly re-
sent and yet it remains to be seen
whether the Danubian states are willing
to submit to such stringent financial
control
British bankers are unwilling to risk
any more money in the Danubian and
other European countries without gov
eminent guarantees. This brings up
the seventh point, upon which the Brit
ish and the French have not yet reached
agreement. The undecided problem is
the actual percentage which Great
Britain should either contribute or
guarantee.
French Premier Andre Tardieus
scheme, which envisages a loan of some
$50. .000, 900, is very coldly received in
London banking circles, where it is
contended that 10 per cent preferen-
tial tariff is totally inadequate to
strengthen the position of the Danubian
countries, and any greater reduction
would inevitably harm third parties,
such as Germany and Italy, with dis
astrous outcome.
Also. while financial London realizes
that most of what are now politely
called frozen credits in Central Eu-
rope are nothing more than uncollect-
able debts, there is the United States
still to be heard from.
Involves U. S. Attitudes.
Tardieu's scheme for revising the
| financial charges Of the Danublan
states is nothing more nor less than one
of scaling down their debts. AS the
United States is by far the largest
| creditor in Central Europe. it is already
| being asked how far America is willing
to go except under the most rigorous
| conditions.
One of these conditions, it is asserted
here, should be stringent international
| control over the Danubian countries
armament and budgets, as well as
/ agreement by France to drastic reduc-
tions in reparations payments by Ger
many.
IF France cared to loan money To
| the Danubian state on ner own" says
| the powerful London Financial News
| no one would object. But it is quite
| certain that no support for Central Eu-
rope can be forthcoming Trom LONDON
so long as Germanys reparations la
| bility remains as it is"