At Brussels

At Brussels, the third congress of the International Chamber of Commerce opened and closed and provided a succession of explosions and thrills.

M. Maurice Despret, a banking genius of Belgium and President of the Congress, threw the first bomb into the proceedings by attacking, not the justice of the Experts' (Dawes) Plan, but its feasibility. Grave doubt exists in the minds of many ex-Allied economists on this point and still graver doubts are entertained by many Germans. But that anybody should have publicly thrown a wet blanket over the Plan was a possibility too disconcerting for thought. Yet, it happened. Allied countries were horror-stricken. Germans jubilated.

The gist of M. Despret's condemnation was that transfer of enormous amounts of money from Germany to other countries was impossible. If, therefore, payments had to be made in kind or in services, how could transfer of goods be made without harming the creditors, and how could services be made to pay reparations without prejudice to the creditor country's industry and trade and injustice to its laboring classes? It simply could not. M. Janssen, Belgian Finance Minister, was of a similar opinion.

Before the Congress had recovered, a small, semi-baldheaded man rose and, shaking his forefinger threateningly at the delegates, said: "Either we want reparation payments or we do not. If we do, the duty of continuous, constructive, cooperative thought is upon us and the day of spasmodic destructive sectional recrimination should be over."

What Sir Josiah Stamp*-- forthe semi-bald one was he--meant was, that the U. S., which is more interested in German reparation than any nation in the world (the U. S. is the world's greatest creditor), should shatter her tariff wall and assist the depressed European nations to increase their exports. But, above all, creditor nations under the Experts' Plan should not press for German payments quicker than that trade policy permits. Further, he warned that creditor nations, including the U. S., might have to curtail production if the Plan is to succeed. The U. S. delegation gasped. The French grew faint. Belgians were dazed. The entire conference was dejected, dismayed. Germans once again jubilated. Perhaps, after all, they would not have to pay any reparation.

For two days, nobody could think of anything except the Experts' Plan or of anybody except Sir Josiah. Then, up spoke John W. O'Leary, President of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, in an even, calm voice that dissipated the prevalent pessimism. The substance of his speech was that the only cure for the ills of the world was adhesion to the sanctity of contracts. He reminded his audience that the U. S. Government had been carrying the interest on billions of dollars owing to the American people, that Britain had made enormous contribution by recognizing her liabilities and putting her finances in order to bring about the stability of the world. It was unfortunate that countries which had spurned direct taxation were being called upon to make good the resultant depreciation of their currencies, which, in turn, had contributed to the increase of their difficulties and decrease of their strength. But this was a lesson which should not be escaped by resort to debt cancellation.

Seymour Parker Gilbert, Agent General for Reparations, followed and in a brief speech defended the Experts' Plan and scored those who condemned it without trial on mere hypothesis. German jubiliation ceased. The Congress adopted a resolution endorsing the Experts' Plan and calling for immediate payment of interallied debts.

resolutions adopted:

1) Cooperation with the League of Nations concerning the abolition of double taxation.

2) Creation of a commission to co-ordinate international air routes.

3) Reform of the Hague rules governing shipowners' liabilities.

4) Adoption of international reciprocity.

5) Fixation of the date of Easter.

6) Combination of sea-rail transport in international journeys.

7) Internationalization of bankruptcy.

*Sir Josiah Charles Stamp, age 45. is a brilliant product of the London School of Economics. He began his career in the Civil Service at the age of 16 and, by dint of ceaseless study, became a recognized authority on questions of finance. Today, he is a director of half a dozen companies, editor of the Roval Statistical Society and, during the course of his career, has held many important treasury positions and has published several economic books. In 1919, he left the Civil Service and last year was apppinted British representative in the Dawes Commission of Experts.