The Government of France ratified the agreement with us on July 27, 1929.  This agreement will shortly be before the Congress and I recommend its approval.

The only indebtedness of foreign governments to the United States now unsettled is that of Russia and Armenia.

During the past year a committee of distinguished experts under American leadership submitted a plan looking to a revision of claims against Germany by the various Governments.  The United States denied itself any participation in the war settlement of general reparations and our claims are comparatively small in amount.  They arise from costs of the army of occupation and claims of our private citizens for losses under awards from the Mixed Claims Commission established under agreement with the German Government.  In finding a basis for settlement it was necessary for the committee of experts to request all the Governments concerned to make some contribution to the adjustment and we have felt that we should share a proportion of the concessions made.

The State and Treasury Departments will be in a position shortly to submit for your consideration a draft of an agreement to be executed between the United States and Germany providing for the payments of these revised amounts.  A more extensive statement will be submitted at that time.

The total amount of indebtedness of the various countries to the United States now funded is $11,579,465,885.  This sum was in effect provided by the issue of United States Government bonds to our own people.  The payments of the various Governments to us on account of principal and interest for 1930 are estimated at a total of about $239,000,000, for 1931 at about $236,000,000, for 1932 at about $246,000,000.  The measure of American compromise in these settlements may be appreciated from the fact that our taxpayers are called upon to find annually about $475,000,000 in interest and in addition to redeem the principal of sums borrowed by the United States Government for these purposes.

ALIEN ENEMY PROPERTY

The wise determination that this property seized in war should be returned to its owners has proceeded with considerable rapidity.  Of the original seized cash and property (valued at a total of about $625,000,000), all but $111,566,700 has been returned.  Most of the remainder should be disposed of during the next year.

GENERAL ECONOMIC SITUATION

The country has enjoyed a large degree of prosperity and sound progress during the past year with a steady improvement in methods of production and distribution and consequent advancement in standards of living.  Progress has, of course, been unequal among industries, and some, such as coal, lumber, leather, and textiles, still lag behind.  The long upward trend of fundamental progress, however, gave rise to over-optimism as to