124.611/234: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Wiley) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 10—1:35 p.m.]
9. Your 4, January 8, 2 p.m. Litvinov has left for Geneva. Am personally presenting note to Krestinsky who however cannot receive me until tomorrow.
He dined with me last night when I had the opportunity to discuss matter with him briefly. He assured me that building materials could [Page 271] be purchased at reasonable prices, indeed that all points could be readily clarified save that of labor. It would not be feasible for the American Government to pay wages in rubles nor for the Soviet Government to permit Soviet workmen to be paid in valuta.80 He thought, therefore, that it would be necessary for us to enter into a contract with a Soviet construction organization which would erect the buildings with materials furnished by us and labor supplied by it. There would be a Soviet engineer responsible to the Moscow Soviet and an American architect responsible to the State Department. After some discussion he expressed the opinion that the matter could be worked out in such a way that we could have authority to control the building operations. I manifested pessimism.
I intend to ask him tomorrow if some Soviet agency could act as intermediary in the matter of wages in such a way that we could employ labor furnished by the Soviet authorities and/or labor engaged by us. We could pay such agency at predetermined wage scales in dollars and the agency would pay the Soviet workmen in rubles.
- i. e., foreign currency.↩