The plan included the following provisions: First, the statement of these sums; and, second, a definition of their inclusive nature as follows:

Before passing from this part of our report, we desire to make it quite clear that the sums denoted above in our examination of the successive years, comprise all amounts for which Germany may be liable to the allied and associated powers for the costs arising out of the war, including reparation, restitution, all costs of all armies of occupation, clearing-house operations to the extent of those balances which the Reparation Commission decide must legitimately remain a definitive charge on the German Government, commissions of control and supervision, etc. Wherever in any part of this report or its annexes we refer to treaty payments, reparation, amounts payable to the Allies, etc., we use these terms to include all charges payable by Germany to the allied and associated powers for these war costs. They also include special payments such as those due under articles 58, 124, and 125 of the treaty of Versailles.

It is not necessary to go into that last treaty. So you see that the agreement when accepted by the allied powers-we did not sign it, of course-provides that these payments were to be the total payments made by Germany, and the allied and associated powers were compelled to agree between themselves as to the division of these payments between the various governments.

Senator REED of Pennsylvania. We did sign that agreement.
Secretary KELLOGG. We did sign that agreement.

Senator KING. By what authority?

Senator JONES of New Mexico. And, Mr. Secretary, by what authority did the Dawes Commission undertake to include the matters pertaining to the United States?

Secretary KELLOGG. Oh, they simply recommended it in this. Of course, we gave them no authority. There was no one on the Dawes committee representing the Government of the United States. And, of course, I did not sign the protocol putting in effect the Dawes plan at all.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Well, did not the German Government insist, or rather claim, that someone on behalf of the United States requested the Dawes Commission to include the United States in that plan?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, I never heard of it.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Well, it seems to me that I got that impression from a letter of the German Government directed to you and published in this document 173.

The CHAIRMAN. 173 or 182?

Senator JONES of New Mexico. 173.

Secretary KELLOGG. I would have to look that up. I do not recollect it. I do recollect this, of course-and I may want to correct the language when I look at the documents, because I have not got everything before me during the session of the London conference the French representatives offered a resolution for a meeting of the finance ministers of the allied governments to agree on a division of the payments to be made by Germany between them. That was before the Dawes plan had been accepted by the London conference. As our Army costs had not been paid and the London conference was not to pass upon the question of the division of payments I was instructed by Mr. Hughes to file a statement with the secretary of the conference that the United States was entitled to participate

in any conference for the division of these payments, and was entitled to have its Army costs paid as a prior charge on those payments, and was entitled to participate in the payments after the priorities had been paid for the purpose of paying the American claims. I filed that statement with the London conference. And thereafter we did participate in the division.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you take any part in the London conference? Secretary KELLOGG. Oh, yes; I was present all the time. Of course the agreement was made between the allied powers. We did not join in the agreement. I was present simply as the representative of the United States.

Senator EDGE. Well, they did agree, did they not, Mr. Secretary, to the claim as outlined by you in the Hughes letter, I mean they agreed to allow us the priority, did they not?

Secretary KELLOGG. Yes. I will come to that in a moment.

Senator KING. One moment, Mr. Secretary, if I may interrupt you?

Secretary KELLOGG. Yes.

Senator KING. The payments for the Army of Occupation had been made by Germany to the allied nations and the $284,000,000 which are due the United States has been paid, and Mr. Hughes or you did not insist upon getting that $284,000,000, did you?

Secretary KELLOGG. Oh, yes; we insisted on it, of course.

Senator KING. And were remitted that mere amount provided for by the agreement which you signed?

Secretary KELLOGG. No. I will explain that. Prior to the time I became ambassador-and I can not tell you without having the agreement here, and I have not got it, but I can send it to youthis Government sent Mr. Eliot Wadsworth to Paris to negotiate for the payment of the American claims for the costs of the Army of Occupation. I am unable to say to what extent the allied powers had received their pay. I believe practically in full.

Senator HARRISON. Before Mr. Wadsworth went to Paris?

Secretary KELLOGG. Yes, I think before he entered into an agreement. I shall have to look that up for you. Germany paid certain moneys over to the allied powers, and they assumed to at least, and I have no doubt did, take out their army costs.

Senator BAYARD. Did they take out their army costs, Mr. Secretary?

Secretary KELLOGG. Their arms costs but not ours.
Senator BAYARD. In toto, all of it?

Secretary KELLOGG. I think they did take it out under the treaty of Versailles which provided for it. So Mr. Wadsworth went over to Paris and negotiated an agreement for the payment of our Army costs in annual installments. I have not got the agreement here and I can not give you the exact provisions of it, but if you desire it I will send it up as one of the documents you are entitled to.

Senator WATSON. Was that before you went to England? Secretary KELLOGG. Yes. That was in May, 1923. That agreement was, as I recollect, ratified by all the governments except France, which refused to ratify it. And no payments were made under it at all.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Do you know why France refused to ratify that agreement?

Secretary KELLOGG. I do not. It was not during my term of office, and I have no knowledge on the subject. I might be able to look it up, but I could not tell you now.

Senator HARRISON. Well, in that connection do you not think it well, Mr. Secretary, that the number of years of carrying out the agreement that Mr. Wadsworth entered into in which this money was to come to the United States for the army of occupation costs ought to be put into the record?

Secretary KELLOGG. The number of years?

Senator HARRISON. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Well I thought the Secretary was coming to that. Senator HARRISON. Well, he said he did not have that but he could furnish it, but I think it ought to go in the record.

Secretary KELLOGG. No, I say it never came into effect because France refused to ratify it. I do not know why.

Senator HARRISON. You can give us approximately the number of years that were agreed upon, can you not?

Secretary KELLOGG. Do you mean how many years it would take to pay up our Army costs?"

The CHAIRMAN. With interest.

Senator KING. The interest and all was nearly $284,000,000, as I remember. It is some time since I have read it.

Secretary KELLOGG. Our Army costs amounted to about $255,000,000, less certain credits which the German Government was entitled to, which reduced it to somewheres around $235,000,000 or $240,000,000. Well, roughly speaking, that agreement provided that our Army costs of $255,000,000, on which there have been some small credits, which I have just mentioned, would be divided into 12 annual installments, and should be during the first 4 of the 12 years. a first charge on cash payments received from Germany or for Germany's account after the expenses of the Reparation Commission and the current expenses of allied armies of occupation have been satisfied, but during the last 8 years to be an absolute prior charge on all cash payments except for the costs of the Reparation Commission. That was the Wadsworth agreement in substance.

Senator HARRISON. In other words, we were giving them 12 years in which to pay it, although Germany had paid it into the treasuries of the allied countries?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, Germany had paid lump sums to the allied powers, and under the Versailles treaty they took their army costs as the first charge. Now, that agreement, as I say-I am not very familiar with the history of it-never went into effect, and we got no Army costs paid under it.

After the Dawes plan had been put in force, of course it was evident that we either had to get out money as a prior charge out of these lump payments by Germany or a percentage of the current. payments by Germany. And I was directed to sound out the British Government as to its attitude, which had not up to that time appeared to be very favorable to our getting anything out of the German payments. So under the instructions of Mr. Hughes I took the matter up with the British Government, as appears in the cor

respondence here. It is all in this Senate Document No. 173. The British Government said of course we were entitled to the payment of our Army costs, but we were not entitled to anything to pay our claims against Germany because we had not ratified the treaty of Versailles.

As you will see by the correspondence I was directed by Mr. Hughes and did take the position that the Berlin treaty adopting certain provisions of the Versailles treaty for the benefit of the United States included the provision that the United States was entitled to the same claims against Germany as the allied powers: The United States did not insist on the same claims; it waived the pensions to soldiers, etc.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Well, when did our Government waive those payments?

Secretary KELLOGG. I can not tell you exactly. I think in connection with the Mixed Claims Convention and the exchange of notes. It is all in this statement.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. There is nothing in the Berlin treaty which waives any of it, is there?

Secretary KELLOGG. No. I think there is in the exchange of notes made in connection with the claims convention. If they are not published in this statement we will furnish them to you. Under the Berlin treaty, however, we were entitled to the payment of all damages to all Americans growing out of the war, to their persons and to their property. The correspondence in relation to the pension and other claims will be found on page 31 of this document.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Well, as long as we are going to refer to that we might just as well clear it up. There is nothing in the Berlin treaty or any act of Congress, is there, by which the United States waived any claims provided in the Versailles treaty?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, I do not know whether there is or not. There is nothing in the Berlin treaty. The correspondence on that subject you will find here in this document. Of course, we did not waive any claims for damages to our nationals growing out of the

war.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. The matter of claims for pensions and injury to our soldiers and that sort of thing, which were provided for in the Versailles treaty, was referred to a while ago. That was all carried into the Berlin treaty. Now I would like to know by what authority the State Department or any department of the Government waived any of those claims against Germany?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, my recollection is that the principal item waived was that this Government would not make any claim for soldiers' pensions, etc., but I would have to look that up.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Now that was provided for in the Versailles treaty.

Secretary KELLOGG. Yes.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. And carried into the Berlin treaty. Secretary KELLOGG. Yes.

Senator Jones of New Mexico. Now, by what authority did the State Department or any other department of this Government waive any of those claims?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, all I can tell you about it is the note sent on August 10, 1922, by Mr. Houghton to the German Govern

ment:

In accordance with the instructions that I have received from my Government, I am authorized by the President to state that he has no intention of pressing against Germany or of presenting to the commission established under the claims agreement any claims not covered by the treaty of August 25, 1921, or any claims falling within paragraphs 5 to 7, inclusive, of the annex following article 244 of the treaty of Versailles.

Senator McLEAN. What is the date of that letter?

Secretary KELLOGG. August 10, 1922. Paragraphs 5 to 7 of annex 1, following article 244 of the Versailles treaty read as follows:

(5) As damage caused to the peoples of the allied and associated powers, all pensions and compensation in the nature of pensions to naval and military victims of war (including members of the air force), whether mutilated, wounded, sick, of invalided, and to the dependents of such victims, the amount due to the allied and associated governments being calculated for each of them as being the capitalized cost of such pensions and compensation at the date of the coming into force of the present treaty on the basis of the scales in force in France at such date.

(6) The cost of assistance by the governments of the allied and associated powers to prisoners of war and to their fmilies and dependents.

(7) Allowances by the governments of the allied and associated powers to the families and dependents of mobilized persons or persons serving with the forces, the amount due to them for each calendar year in which hostilities occurred being calculated for each government on the basis of the average scale for such payments in force in France during that year.

Those were the claims. Now, I am entirely unable to tell whether the allied powers got anything under those claims or not.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. I am not specially interested in whether they have or not, but I am interested in knowing by what authority any one representing the United States Government undertook to waive any of those claims?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, of course, the President has authority to settle claims of this country against any foreign country, unless prohibited by Congress. However, there is no use of me discussing that any more. I am simply telling what occurred.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Well, I think you are just the one to shed light upon this subject, if any one can. You are the head of the State Department, the one that deals with foreign nations, and here is a treaty right which the Senate put into a solemn treaty between the United States and Germany, and I would like to know whether it is claimed by any one in the State Department that that department or even the President had authority to waive anything that was included in that treaty?

Secretary KELLOGG. Well, a German Claims Commission was created by the convention or agreement between Germany and the United States, and very naturally the President had the power to decide what claims should be presented before that commission on behalf of the Government of the United States, or should not be. That is a power the President always has in enforcing claims against foreign countries.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. I am willing to admit that I am not familiar with the practice of nations in dealing with each other in respect to such matters as we have before us now, and it may appear that I am asking questions which are not proper, but in order