Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1922-03-26 | Page 3 | Rhine Claim Kept to Fore

RHINE CLAIM KEPT TO FORE U. S. Acts to Protect Validity Valid-ity of Debt in Allied Bookkeeping BY GEORGE it. HOLM1 6 (International News Service) WASHINGTON, March 2j. The Ami rloan government has moved swiftly to prevent the validity of Its claim for ?24 l.OOO.OO'O due for keeping keep-ing the American expeditionary forces on the Rhine from becoming involved in the intricacies ot allied bookkeeping. bookkeep-ing. There was handed to the foreign offices of each of the allied powers abroad today a second American not9 bearing on the subject of reimbursement, reimburse-ment, it stated in effect that it is of no concern to this government how the books are manipulated to show who has paid in full and who has not, because the validity of the American claims, remains unaffected by any Sgn ements which the allies may mak between themselves on the side. The second or supplementary note v. sb made necessary by an agreement between the allied powers concerning French payment, which officials of this government feared might lead to questioning the accuracy of the original orig-inal note. The first American commutation stated that Prance bus been paid in full up 10 Mav, 1SJ1. for keeping the French occupational troops on the Rhine whereas the American government govern-ment had never received any reimbursement. reim-bursement. After the" dispatch of the American communication, the state' department learned that the British and French had gotten together and decided to credit the transfer to France of the i Saar coal and iron mines to the 1922 1 books, instead of those of 1921. The transaction was merely one of bookkeeping book-keeping as the French have had control con-trol ot the mines since the war 'Foreseeing thut the allied reply might point out this seeming inaccur-ac inaccur-ac in ih American note and raise th- argument that ihe records show that none of the allies had received full payment for their occupational expenses, the state department de rued ru-ed it exp dlent to right the matter before the allies send their reply The official Statement of the state I department, the text of the second note, follows. "After the dispatch of the instructions instruc-tions to the diplomatic representatives is for delivery of the identic note on army costs, the department of state' was informed it had been proposed! to postpone the debit to France as j against. Its army costs of the value of the Saar mines to the year 1922.1 The postponement of this debit would' affect the balance of ihe aciount as1 of May 1, 1921. Accordingly the de- partment of state sent instruction on Wednesday. March 22. to the Amerl-1 can diplomatic representatives to deliver de-liver on Identic supplementary note to the governments of Belgium, Great! Britain France, Italy and Japan. This! supplementary note is as follows ! "In its note of March 22, 1922. the j government of the United States stat-' ed that according to the information and accounts in the possession of the allied governments, it appeared that' the amount due to France for its' army costs to May 1, 1921, had been paid in full, chiefly through deliveries deliver-ies of property. "The government of the United Stntes g now Informed that It Is proposed pro-posed to postpone the debit to France for the value of the Saar mines as though delivery were made in kind during the year 1922. This government govern-ment does not deem It necessary it this time to enter Into discussions of the debits or credits or to discuss the postponement of the debit for the value of the Saar mines and all questions ques-tions of this character arc fullv reserved. re-served. It is doomed to bo sufficient to say that It Is the view of the gov- eminent of the United States that the question whether or not there would be a deficit in the French account for army costs s of May 1. 1921, upon a final agreed statement of that account, ac-count, is .i master which doei not affect af-fect the position of this government with respect to Its right to receive ihe payment of the actual cost of its army of occupation upon an equal fooling wlih the allied powers."