REPARATION COMMITTEE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 270, 12 November 1923, Page 5

REPARATION COMMITTEE.

AMERICA DROPS OUT. FRENCH ATTITUDE THE CAUSE NEW YORK, November 11. The Washington correspondent of the United Press of America states that Mr C. E. Hughes, Secretary of State, has informed France that her limitation; would frustrate the purposes of the reparation inquiry. This is underetooc to mean that the United States has dropped Mr. Hughes' plan. The Washington correspondent of tin "New York Times" says that, briefly stated, the objections of the President Mr. Coolidge and Mr. Hughes to M Pilncarc's limita<n«ns, are as follows:— Tho United States Government, in ac cepting the Marquis A. Curzon's mvi tation, desired to give the proposec committee of experts the latitude neces sary to formulate a financial plan urgently needed to prevent economic disaster in Europe, not merely to determine the amount of reparations that Germany can pay or the manner of payment. The United States feels that the latter questions are ouly of secondary importance, because until Europe is economically rehabilitated, Germany can pay little or nothing. Mr. Coolidge and Mr. Hughes are greatly disappointed with M. Poincare's stand," and while Mr. Hughes' plan is considered to have been definitely abandoned, American attitude will continue to be friendly and the United States will be ready to resume the proposal if all parties accept the idea that the purpose of it is the economic reconstruction of Europe primarily. This view was announced officially at the State Department late yesterday, after Mr. Hughes and the French Ambassador, M. Jusserand, had conferred, and after it had been announced at White House that Mr. Coolidge believed that tbe restricted inquiry desired by M. Poincare would be useless. Ml Jusserand is understood to have informed Mr. Hughes that M. Poincare was prepared to insist that the powers of .the proposed expert committee should be broad enough to permit only an inquiry into German's capacity to pay during the period to end with 1930. —(A, -_cbl_.) _