Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1931, Volume I

462.00R296/4880: Telegram

The Consul at Basel (Cochran) to the Acting Secretary of State

Basel, August 8, 1931—10 p.m.
[Received 10:10 p.m.]

The committee of ten nominees of Central Banks assembled at the B. I. S. this evening.¹³ McGarrah¹⁴ opened the session. Wiggin was chosen permanent chairman. The committee examined the information submitted by the two B. I. S. officials, Blessing and Rodenbach, who have been assigned to the committee as secretaries and who have returned from a visit to Berlin where they sought certain preliminary data from the Germans.

French with Belgian support argued today in favor of limiting work of the committee strictly to short-term credit situation. They consider question of long-term lending at present academic. They desire studies to cover only the period of the Hoover moratorium without touching on the Young Plan, reparations, war debts, et cetera.

The committee feels that its work cannot well advance until the so-called Still stand [Stillhalte] question¹⁵ is settled and they are considering inviting representatives from the countries having credits in Germany to confer with them in regard to effecting arrangements for prolonging such credits.¹⁶

The committee will continue for the present to sit at Basel, the next session will be held Sunday August 9, 11 a.m., when Melchior will begin an exposé of the German situation to be continued Monday afternoon after the committee has had an opportunity to study the detailed documents.

Blessing, a German subject, is acting as secretary, Rodenbach, a French citizen, and also one Englishman are the two assistants.

Cochran

13. The committee, set up in accordance with the recommendation of the London Conference, consisted of the following members: nominated by the Bank of Italy, Signor Alberto Beneduce, President of the Consorzio di Credito per le Opere Pubbliche, Rome; nominated by the Swiss National Bank, Dr. R. G. Bindschedler, Vice-President of the Board of Directors, Crédit Suisse, Zurich; nominated by the Netherlands Bank, Mr. P. Holstede de Groot, Managing Director, Amsterdamsche Bank, Amsterdam; nominated by the National Bank of Belgium, M. Emile Francqui, Vice-Governor of the Société Générale de Belgique, Brussels; nominated by the Bank of England, Sir Walter T. Layton, C. H., C. B. E., Editor of the Economist, London; nominated by the Reichsbank, Dr. Carl Melchior, partner of M. M. Warburg & Co., Hamburg; nominated by the Bank of France, M. Emile Moreau, former Governor of the Bank of France, President of the Board of Directors, Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas, Paris; nominated by the Bank of Sweden, Mr. Oscar Rydbeck, Manager, Skandanaviske Kreditaktiebolaget, Stockholm; nominated by the Bank of Japan, Mr. T. Tanaka, representative in London of the Bank of Japan; nominated by the Federal Reserve Board, Mr. Albert Wiggin, Chairman of the Board, Chase National Bank of New York.
14. Gates McGarrah, President of the Bank for International Settlements.
15. The question of prolonging the existing volume of short-term credits in Germany.
16. On August 11 invitations were extended to private bankers in various countries (462.00R296/4915).