DEMOCRATS HOLD OFF.

Wairarapa Age, 22 December 1932, Page 7

DEMOCRATS HOLD OFF.

MR. HOOVER’S WAR DEBT PROPOSAL. UNCOMPROMISING OPPOSITION IN CONGRESS. MR. BOOSEiVELT FOR SEPARATE NEGOTIATIONS. WASHINGTON, December 20. The Democrats are clearly shying away from active participation in President Hodver's proposal for a commission to undertake a review of war debts, and he has elected to go ahead on his own initiative. The chairman. (Air. Collier) of, the House Ways and Means Committee said on Tuesday: 4 ‘l am willing to have the Ways and Means Committee consider the message, but 1 am confident that it will not consider it favourably." Mr. Collier said he was opposed to Congress setting up any additional commissions to be appointed by President Hoover shortly before his retirement, but said that he had no objection to the President setting up “another of his own. I qjn confident that this Congress is opposed to creating another debt-funding commission. '' Mr. Collier said that the proposition would not be laid before his group for consideration at least until January. President Hoover and President-elect Roosevelt are understood to have already exchanged views. Mr Roosevelt’s attitude is described as sympathetic, but firm against dividing responsibility with the President. The friends of Mr. Roosevelt are convinced that he will stand by his previously announced policy that the debt negotiations should be conducted through the regular diplomatic channels and separately with the debtor nations. Senator Swanson, of Virginia, Democratic member .of the United States Anns Delegation, who has been regarded as perhaps the first choice of the President for a place on the debts agency, said: “The power to negotiate all foreign relations is left with the President under the Constitution. The methods he adopts have been left entirely with him under law and custom. I think a situation has developed that makes it wiser for the United States to conduct separate negotiations. The United States is really the only creditor nation, and joint negotiations would only bring a solid front against

INTEREST IN BRITAIN. HOPES OF EARLY DISCUSSION. RUGBY, December 20. Interest has been aroused in Britain by President Hoover's message to Congress declaring that he intends to proceed, if needs be, independently of Congress, to set up machinery for further debt discussion with those nations which have not defaulted. The President intimated that he would make a further attempt to secure the co-opera-tion of President-elect Roosevelt. The American policy would be to link debts, economic questions, and disarmament, and secure trade compensations for debt remission. Cancellation would not be entertained. In the House of Commons, Mr. Baldwin, replying to a question, said that 1 the United States had agreed to enter with Britain on a joint examination of the whole war debt question, and it was hoped that the discussion would be initiated at an early date.-—(British Official Wireless,)