17 FEBRUARY 1923, Page 10

There is reason to hope that Congress will ratify the

proposed settlement of the American loan ; the Washing- ton Post regards it as a " foregone conclusion." On Friday, February 9th, the House of Representatives passed the Funding Bill by 291 votes to 44, and the Finance Committee of the Senate then decided in favour of a settlement by 8 votes to 3. President Harding, in his message to Congress recommending ratification, said : " It means far more than the mere funding and ultimate discharge of the largest international loan ever con- tracted. It is a recommitment of the English-speaking world to the validity of contract."