Evening star., 1932-12-20
DEMOCRATS BALK
AT JOINING HOOVER
IN WAR DEBT MOVE
Roosevelt Sympathetic, but
Will Leave Issue With
Administration.
MESSAGE GIVEN STUDY
BY EUROPEAN NATIONS
Press Comment in Great Britain
Favorable. but Paris Papers
Express skepticism.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the ASSoclat ed Press.
Democrats today were clearly shy
ing away from active participation In
President Hoover's proposal for COM
mission review of the war debts prob
lem, and he was expected at the Capt.
tol to go ahead on his own initiative.
The President and Gov. Roosevelt
were understood already to have ex-
changed views and that the Democratic
President elect is leaving the issue
with this administration. The Gov
ernor's attitude was described as SYM
pathetic but firm against dividing re-
sponsibility with the President.
Friends of the President-elect were
convinced he would stand by his previ-
ously announced policy that debt
negotiations should be conducted
through regular diplomatic channels
and separately with the debtor nations.
Meanwhile, it became apparent that
Democrats in Congress were not in
>clined to listen to the presidential sug-
gestion that members of Congress serve
on the debt commission.
Favors Separate Negotiations.
Senator Swanson of Virginia. a
Democratic member of the American
arms delegation, who had been re-
garded as perhaps the first choice Of
the President for place on the debts
agency, said:
The power to negotiate all foreign
relations is left with the President un-
der the Constitution The methods he
adopts have been left entirely with him
under law and custom. I think STU
alton has developed that ankles il wiser
for the United States to conduct sep
arate negotiations The United States
is really the only creditor Nation. and
Joint negotiations wCu,d only bring
solid front against US.
"Of course, any negotiations that the
President may effect are not operative
until Congress has approved.
Il concur with the sentiment ex-
pressed By President-elect Roosevelt at
his conference here with President
Hoover that the negotiations be direct
and separate. I have had no occasion
to change my views since then, think
Gov. Roosevelt vas wise in his deci-
sion."
Confer With Economic Experts.
Swanson spent several hours in con-
ference with President-elect Roosevelt
before the latter issued his debt state
ment.
Meanwhile Secretaries Stimson, Mills
and Chaplin he'd a conference at the
State Department with Edmund E. Day
and John H. Williams, the economic
experts whom the United States desig-
mated to confer with experts from other
w. nf q for
the World Economic Conference.
Tee secretaries talked with the eX-
pcrts fo1 about an hour and at the con-
,lusion OF the meeting, Stimson and
Mills Went to the White House to con-
fer VITA the President.
StinSon said no definite date has
ben fixed for meeting of the inter-
national experts at Geneva to arrange
for the world economic program.
Meanwhile speculation was rising
over the possibility that the President
might choose Stinson to head his Debt
Commission. Stimson was chairman OF
the American delegation to the arms
conference and the President wants to
link these two propositions
Other Names Heard.
Other names heard in the specula-
IlOIl over III tllC NCOt
commission included Secretary Mills,
Ambassador Mellon. who was the chair
man of the old War Debts Commission,
which negotiated the present settle
ments; Senators Reed of Pennsylvania
and Harrison of Mississippi, members
of the Senate Finance Committee, and
Representatives Collier of Mississippi
and HaWley of Oregon, ranking men,
bers of the House Ways and Means
Committee
Hope persisted at the Capitol that
the presidential message Of yesterday,
opening the way for study of debts,
would lead to an ultimate settlement
with France of her December Is pay
mert. which she defau,ted.
In informed official quarters, there
was no expectation that any foreign
government would make move in con-
nectlon with debts until there has been
time for further study of the Presidents S
message OF yesterday and some assur-
ance that negotiations begun under
President Hoover may be continued un-
der the new administration.
The view also was expressed that
until more definite proposals from
Great Britain or other debtor nations
are laid before the administration there
Continued on Page 4, Column -