Evening star., 1933-02-08
sss9, 900, 900 SUM PROPOSED.
British Commoner Suggests Lump
Payment as Cabinet Convenes.


Payment as Cabinet Convenes.
By tie Associated Press.
LONDON, February 8.-Payment OF
fIco, ,ooo, 900, currently about $3.50 900,
In a lump sum to the United States as
full and final settlement OF Great
Britain's war debt was proposed In the
House of Commons today by Geof1rey
Mander, Liberal.
A representative of Neville Chamber
lain. chancellor of the exchequer. said
in the chancellor's absence that MT.
Chamberlain was aware Of various sug-
gestions of that nature, but that he
would express no opinion upon them
pending the debts negotiations at Wash
ington next month,
Great Britain's debts to America now
stand at approximately s4, 499 .52o,o ,ooo.
The payment proposed by Mr.. Mander,
therefore, would affect final settlement
on a basis of something less than 10
per cent, approximately the scale, on
which the Lausanne Conference settled
the German reparations. p
Cabinet Sessions Begun.
The first of three. cabinet sessions
a week to the British policy for negotia- :
ttons with President-elect Roosevelt and
formal debt talks after his inauguration
began today at Premier MacDonald's
residence. -,
Ambassador Sir Ronald Lindsay will
lesse London for Washington in about
q geek Final approval OF the BRUSH
program was planned before his de-
parturc.
That England was considering present.
ing plan for a single payment IN
behalf of italy, France and the smaller
debtors was disclosed in informed quar-
tiers. (President-elect Roosevelt's In
tention has been to deal with each
debtor nation separately
1t was learned that lump sum pay.
ment of between $3.50 ,0Oo,0 600 and
$4,000 900, 900 was considered by the
British cabinet as settlement for the
total European debt of about $1l 900, :
600 .OOO which was to have been pald
over period extending through the
next so years.
Will Have Complete Plan.
Sir Ronald, it was stated, will return
to the United States with completed
outline of the British debt policy, wnicn
is being formulated at conferences be-
tween himself and the cabinet Big
Five" These discussions, with Premier
Ramsay MacDonald and Ministers Me-
willie Chamberlain, Sir John Simon,
Walter Runciman and Stanley BALDWIN
participating. were to continue at least
several days longer.
The present activities of the six men
were described as a preliminary survey
of the debt situation and for TINS reason
no official announcements were ex-
pected concerning the matters discussed.
Mr.. Chamberlain and Sir John parrleo
attempts in Parliament yesterday 10
learn how the cabinet members were
attacking the problem.
The plan Sir Ronald was expected 10
take back to Washington would be In
the nature of new Lausanne agree
nent." applying to the nations OBJ
,lipated to the United States.
The provisional Lausanne agreement,
under which German reparations were
scaled down 80 per cent to S7o0,ooo,ooo
was desired by European signatory ma
tions as a model for final settlement
with the United States. Their conten-
ton is that since they have wiped out
most of the German reparations, the
United States should provide them with
similar relief
Dates Back to 1922.
The British viewpoint goes back to
the Balfour note of August l. 1922
Faced with the necessity Of funding
her debt with United States in the
next year, Great Britain laid down a
principle for dealing with her own
debtors This principle, as expressed in
the Balfour note, was that she would
be content with total sum from hel
allies and Germany sufficient to cover
her own payments to the United States
Although Great Britain's borrowings
from the United States tota,ed more
than $4,000. 600, 900, her advances tc
the allies greatly exceed that amount
The full cabinet went into session al
Premier MacDonalds residence, No.
Downing street, this morning to heal
the Big Five's" report upon its con-
sultations with Ambassador Lindsay.