DEBTS TO AMERICA.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18796, 18 November 1932, Page 7

DEBTS TO AMERICA.

REQUEST FOR MORATORIUM UNLIKELY TO BE GRANTED. MR HOOVER’S ATTITUDE. United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright. NEW YORK, Nov. 16. The Washington correspondent of the New- York Times states that the President, Mr Hoover, Indloated to-day-’that he will not reoommond to Congress a suspension of the debt payments due on December 16. It is said that this deolslon was reached after Mr Hoover had been informed of the almost unanimous opposition among the members of Congress to the proposed moratorium. The President will not even move for a revival of the Debt Funding Commission to study the capacity of the debtor nations to pay unless the Pre-sident-elect, Mr Franklin Roosevelt, at the forthcoming conference with Mr Hoover favours such a course. No programme, in fact, will be proposed unless it is acceptable to Mr Roosevelt. It Is Intimated that Mr Hoover will insist that the December payments shall be met before he will oonsider suggesting to his successor the creation of another commission to consider a revision of the debt funding terms. Mr Hoover to-day reiterated that he Is opposed to debt cancellation, hut expressed his belief that the United States would obtain commercial advantages if the debts were reduoed. It is understood the President told Senators to-day he was very much surprised that foreign countries should have asked for a suspension of payments at this time. He held that their case would have been better received by Congress if they had asked for a restudy of the question and not made a restudy follow upon suspension. Democrat Senators reaffirmed their belief to-day that the new Administration will prefer to throw the debt question into an international conference which would also consider reciprocal tariff treaties and other economlo factors which are impeding the world's economic recovery. Important private pronouncements on the situation were made by Mr Louis Taber, head of the National Grange, the most important of the farmers’ organisations in America, and Mr Thomas Lamont, of the J. P. Morgan Company. Mr Taber advocated a postponement of the collection of Interest charges for a short time. Mr Lamont declared that the debts were "perfectly just but impossible," as their payment would choke the ohannels of world trade. WASHINGTON, Nov. 16. The suggestion that the United States would grant a further moratorium to Its European debtors has led to a movement among farmers and other debtors in this country for similar concessions on private and semiGovernmental debts. Senator S. D. Fess (Republican—■ Ohio) said: “The suggested moratorium would open the way for a general demand from our own people for concession In the case of debts contracted with Federal land banks, homo loan banks and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Foreign nations by injecting this problem Into our domestic situation at this inopportune time have embarrassed this Government."