The Abbeville Press And Banner

Washington, March 10.-Italy is preparing, through rehabilitating her internal financial condition, setting in motion again the machinery of commercial relations and resuming the production of staples of commerce utilized in her foreign trade to discharge her debt to the United States, Rolando Ricci, the new Italian ambassador, said today in answer to an inquiry. The debt, according to the last annual report of former Secretary Houston, amounts to $1,631,000,000.

The ambassador in a statement said:

"The following is my precise opinion in regard to the American loans to Italy and the payment of said loans by Italy:

"It must through a revision of the accounts ascertain the exact amount of her debt and then ask for a convenient period of time within which to pay it. This condition is essential because otherwise it would be impossible for Italy to rehabilitate her financial condition which is in its turn the only way whereby Italy can pay her debt.

"Italy would naturally ask the preferred nations treatment, i. e. a cancellation or partial remittance of debt to any other nation the same treatment be granted her. Like the United States, Italy entered the war without being forced to do so by any aggression and while the nations that had been attacked were in very difficult straits, Italy got nothing out of the war except her natural boundaries and such boundaries Italy conquered with her own military effort which culminated with the victory of Vittorio Veneto.

"Italy has therefore, a political attitude and a public sentiment which agree completely with the political attitude and public sentiment of the United States. This, I think and hope, will facilitate my work here. I accepted the charge of doing this work with this understanding of the situation."

The ambassador expressed confidence in the success of the efforts that are now being made to bring about a complete resumption of the formerly large and important trade relations between Italy and the United States, particularly the Italian export trade with this country meeting the financial obligations of Italy to America. He indicated, however, that it would not be possible at first to apply the proceeds of the sale of Italian products imported into America directly toward the reduction of the debt to this country.

Although no intimation has come from the treasury of a disposition to discuss the questions involved in a readjustment of the indebtedness of the allied powers to the United States, it is understood to be regarded by the heads of the foreign embassies here as a subject that must very soon be taken under consideration in order that the house ways and means committee and the senate committee on finance may be in possession of facts, regarding the probable receipts of interest on account of these foreign debts as a basis for their own calculations of the amount of revenue that must be raised by tariff and internal revenue legislation in this country to meet its budget.