NO SUSPENSION

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 121, 18 November 1932, Page 7

NO SUSPENSION

AMERICA AND WAR DEBTS

DECEMBEE PAYMENTS

HOOVER SOUNDS CONGRESS

MORATORIUM OPPOSED

United Press Assoclatlon-^By Electric Tele-

graph—Copyright. NEW YORK, ,16th November. The Washington correspondent of the "New York Times" states that President Hoover indicated to-day that he would not recommend to Congress a suspension of the, war debt payments due on 15th December. It is said that this decision was reached after he had been informed of the almost unanimous opposition among members of Congress to the proposed extension of the moratorium. ■ " ■ '■■■■■

Mr. Hoover will not even move for a revival of ; the Debt Funding Commission, to study the capacity of debtor nations to pay unless the Presidentelect, Mr. Franklin Roosevelt, in the forthcoming conferences with the President, favours "such a course. No programme will, in fact, be proposed unless it is acceptable to Mr. Roosevelt.

_. It is intimated that Mr. Hoover will insist that the payments due on 15tli December should be met before he will consider suggesting to his successor the creation of a Commission ito consider revision of the debt funding terms. . Mr. Hoover to-day reiterated that he was opposed to cancellation, but expressed the belief that the United States would obtain commercial advant- j ages if the debts were reduced. • ' PRESIDENT SURPRISED. It is understood that the President told Senators to-day that he was very I much surprised that foreign countries should ask for a suspension of payments at this time, holding that their case would have been better received J)y Congress if they had asked for a new study of the situation, and not made a new study follow upon suspension. •

Democratic Senators reaffirmed their belief to-day that tho new Administration will prefer to throw the debt question into tho International Conference, which will also consider reciprocal tariff treaties and other economic factors as aids to world recovery. • The suggestion that the United States should grant a further moratorium has led to a moveiaent among farmers and other dQbtors in this country for similar concessions in private and semigovernmental debts. . ,

■Senator Fess said that it would open the way for a general move byxour own people demanding" concessions in the case of debts contracted with Federal land banks, home loan banks, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. "Foreign nations injecting this problem into our domestic situation at this inopportune time have embarrassed this Government," ho said. '

Important private pronouncements on the debt situation came to-day from Mr. Louis Taber, head of the National Grange, the most important ■ fanners' organisation in America, and' Mr. Thomas Lamont, of the J. P. Morgan Company. The former advocated a postponement of the collection of interest charges for a brief period and a limited reduction of products. The latter declared that the debts were, "perfectly just but .impossible,'* and that payment would choke the channels of world trade.

The amount of - the instalment of British war debt payment due next month is 95,500,000 dollars, equal at par to £20,000,000, but at the present rate of exchange to £28,000,000. The total amount of British debt is 4600 million dollars. Britain has already paid of£ 202 million dollars of principal, and has paid as interest 11,149,700,000l1,149,700,000 dollars. *