The London Conference on the Application of the Dawes Plan

Extract

The Dawes plan for recovering the reparation debt of Germany to the Allies under the Treaty of Versailles was accepted by all of the interested parties at London on August 16, 1924, and certain agreements necessary to enable the plan to be brought into operation were drawn up and initialed.Formal signatures to them were attached on August 30th after the French Parliament had approved the work of the conference on August 24th and 26th, and the laws for carrying the plan into effect had been passed by the German Reichstag on August 29th. The process of putting the plan into operation was thereupon promptly started. Immediately after the signatures had been attached on August 30th, the French Government issued instructions for the evacuation of a section of the Ruhr, and the Reparation Commission on the same day announced the appointment of the principal officials who are to administer the plan, namely, the Agent General for Reparation Payments, Mr. Owen D.Young of the United States, ad interim,(the appointment of Mr. Seymour Parker Gilbert, formerly Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury, as the permanent Agent General was announced September 4th); Trustee of the Railway Bonds, M. Delacroix of Belgium; Trustee of the Industrial Debentures, Signor Nogara of Italy; Commissioner of Controlled Revenue, Mr. Andrew McFadyean of Great Britain. Two days later, namely, on September 1st, the first instalment of twenty million (20,000,000) gold marks, due from Germany under the plan, was paid to the Agent General for Reparation Payments, and the second instalment was promptly paid ten days later. On September 4th,the restrictions placed upon the movement of persons, goods and vehicles between occupied and unoccupied Germany were removed, and four days later the eastern customs line between the same territories was abolished. On September 10th, the first of the Ruhr political prisoners were set at liberty.