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Show FRENCH ENVOYS DISLIKE OFFER FIRST PROPOSAL IS REJECTED BY DEBT COMMISSION AS UNSATISFACTORY United States Said To Demand Higher High-er Rate of Interest And Larger Payments Than Those Offered Offer-ed By Franco Washington The American counter proposal for funding the French debt has been laid before the French debt Commission and from indications it was very disappointing to the French. After consulting President Coolidge Cool-idge at the cabinet meeting and then with his debt'eommission colleagues in a private meeting Secretary of the Treasury Mellon laid the proposal before be-fore Finance Minister Caillaux in a brief session. The French mission, headed by Caillaux, spent only thirteen minutes with the American commissioners, being dismissed as soon as the counter offer had been read and then handed to them. As the French delegates filed out of the room, disappointment was plainly written on their faces. They seemed downcast at what appeared to be fiat rejection of their first terms and the stiff agreement proposed pro-posed by the Americans. The American commission continued con-tinued in session for a short while after the French left. Undersecretary of the Treasury Winston said after the French left that the negotiations "were proceeding proceed-ing in the usual manner of the offer and counter offer." He added, however, that there was no sign of a break up of the negotiations, nego-tiations, and that as a consequence all continued harmonious. No official version of the experts estimated that the Americans would demand at least $120,000,000 a yea-, after an initial period of reduced payments pay-ments and, furthermore, informed the French that the period of reduced payments which the French proposed was completely out of harmony with American ideas on the subject. The French offer contemplated international in-ternational payments of not more than $90,000,000 at the highest, but an initial period of twelve years reduced payments, ranging from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000. A flexible provision also was included stipulating that France should have the right to seek revision of the debt settlement terms of unforseen conditions should adversely ad-versely affect her future capacity to pay- The Caillaux proposal, submitted at the first session of the two commissions, commis-sions, is regarded by some members of the commission as unsatisfactory, but Secretary of the Treasury Mellon is having it carefully studied by experts ex-perts in connection with voluminous data bearing on the French capacity to pay. Outside of the congressional group on the debt body, there is no disposition disposi-tion to feel that the negotiations have come to an impasse at the outset and it may be said that this group is habitually ha-bitually pessimistic in the debt negotiations, nego-tiations, having predicted the collapse of the Belgian negotiations a few hours before the Belgian agreement was signed. |