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Show 'BELGIANS AGREE 1 ON WAJPAYMENTS PRESSURE BROUGHT UPON COMMISSION COM-MISSION TO ACCEPT PROFFER PROF-FER OF THE U. S. Immediate Payment Is Expected; President's Approval Of Lower Rate Of Interest Is All That Is Needed Washington. Yielding to pressure from the American debt commission, the Belgian commissioners now in Washnigton have agreed to a basis of negotiations which it is confidently expected will result in complete settlement set-tlement of that government's indebtedness indebt-edness to the United States. While a few controversial points remain re-main upon which the two commissions commis-sions are not as yet in accord, none of these points is apparently of sufficient suf-ficient importance to block the settlement, settle-ment, Universal Service was informed inform-ed in high official quarters. The principles agreed upon have already al-ready been submitted to the Belgian government at Brussels. Secretary Mellon and Senator Reed Smoot will lay them before President Presi-dent Coolidge at Plymouth, Vt. Unless the formula meets with un-expeced un-expeced opposition from either one of these sources it is confidently believed be-lieved here that the settlement will go through without a hitch, Universal Service was told. While detailed settlement will not be reached at this meeting, confidence confi-dence was expressed by Universal Service's informant here that the negotiations ne-gotiations will be favorably concluded conclud-ed during the coming week. "In any event the entire Belgian debt will be out of the way long before be-fore the French arrive," it was state-ed. state-ed. The terms granted Belgian, will, it is understood, be far more lenient than those granted Great Britain or the ones France will be compelled to accept. "France, already aware of the proposed pro-posed settlement, is much perturbed over the fact that Belgium is apparently appar-ently being given preferential treatment," treat-ment," one high official said. For all practical purposes the Belgian Bel-gian debt will be divided into two parts. A smaller rate of interest will be paid upon the $171,000,000 borrowed bor-rowed before the armistice, than upon the $309,000,000 obtained at a later date. "While some ' payments on both principal and interest will be required requir-ed from the beginning, they will be so small for the first ten years as to barely escape the term moratorium." "The balance of trade is against Belgium, Bel-gium, the Belgian franc has fallen below be-low that of the French. -So early payments will have to be scaled down." There will be no actual moratorium, mor-atorium, however," one government official said. The American commission was particularly par-ticularly anxious to avoid an actual moratorium for Belgium with its $4S0,O0O,000 debt, for the reason that none was permitted Great Britain, and it did not want to establish a precedent pre-cedent that would prove of such great benefit to France which owes more . than $4,000,000,000. The apparent happy conclusion in sight for the negotiations is in striking strik-ing contrast with the pessimism so evident earlier in the week. The American commission is understood under-stood to feel that the formula laid down in dealing with the comparatively comparative-ly small Belgian debt will prove of the utmost advantage in dealing with the infinitely larger sum owed by France. Only the most unexpected opposition opposi-tion from Brussels or Plymouth, Vt., some high officials on both sides believe, be-lieve, can upset their calculations. |