REPARATIONS: Future Conferences

The Reparations Commission invited General Charles G. Dawes, founder and head of the Central Trust Company of Illinois, to act as chairman of the commission which is to investigate German finance (TIME, Dec. 24).

Henry M. Robinson, lawyer and President of the First National Bank of Los Angeles, was selected by the Reparations Commission to serve on the Commission which is to enquire into the disposition and estimate the value of German funds in foreign countries.

The Reparations Commission invited Montague Collet Norman, Governor of the Bank of England, and Sir Josiah Charles Stamp to sit on No. 1 commission; Reginald McKenna, ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, was invited to sit on the commission which is to concern itself with tracing German capital abroad. The choice of Britain’s delegates was made on the advice of Sir John Bradbury, after consultation with British political leaders. Sir John was Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1913 to 1919 and signed the first Treasury notes issued by the British Government soon after the War, which for several years were alluded to as “Bradburies.”

The two commissions will probably start functioning during the second week of January. Although surface activity was hindered by the approach of Christmas, the various interested Governments were active. It was stated that the French, having consolidated their successful occupation of the Ruhr, were turning their attention to Britain and Italy, both of whom have repeatedly stressed their disapproval of France’s Ruhr policy. In an effort to mollify their opposition, it was reported that France was preparing to remove all the objectionable points in her policy in order to be in a position to confront those Allies with a fait accompli when No. 1 commission makes, what was considered, its inevitable demands for concessions.