Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Address of the President to Congress December 7, 1915

File No. 839.51/1575a.

The Department of State to the Dominican Legation .

[Memorandum.]

Department of State,
Washington , June 8, 1915 .

After a careful consideration of the objections submitted by the Dominican Commission to the status of the financial expert, who at the suggestion of His Excellency, the Provisional President of the Dominican Republic, General José Bordas Valdés, was designated by the President of the United States under article 1 of the convention of February 8, 1907, the President of the United States has decided to avoid any question of the legality and propriety of the appointment of a financial expert for the Dominican Government or in the assignment of duties to such an expert which would in any way conflict with the Constitution or laws of the Dominican Republic.

But having in mind that the execution of the convention of 1907 requires special vigilance, and the United States Government desiring to aid sincerely the Dominican Government in the solution of its economic and financial problems, as the Government of the Dominican Republic loyally recognizes, the President of the United States has decided to assign certain additional duties to the general receiver of Dominican customs and his assistants named under article 1 of the convention of February 8, 1907, with the object of assuring strict compliance with the Treaty, and at the same time that the Dominican Government may obtain the benefits of a sincere assistance of the Government of the United States without contravening the laws of the Dominican Republic.

In addition to such duties as may have heretofore been assigned to the general receiver, he will be directed to devote, personally or through his assistants named under article 1 of the convention of 1907, special attention to those clauses of the convention of 1907 having to do with “the retirement and extinction of certain concessions and harbor monopolies which are a burden and hindrance to the commerce of the country” and to the allotment of the unexpended balance of the proceeds of the bond sale authorized by that convention “to the construction of certain railroads and bridges and other public improvements necessary to the industrial development of the country” and to the observation required by that clause of the convention which provided that “until the Dominican Republic has paid the whole amount of the bonds of the debt its public debt shall not be increased except by previous agreement between the Dominican Government and the United States.”

In order that he may effectively assist in preventing the unnecessary increase of the public debt of the Dominican Republic and be in a position to advise the United States Government of the necessity of increasing such debt, in case the necessity should arise, and to advise the United States Government as to the many financial questions which are constantly arising in the performance of the duty imposed on the United States Government by the convention of 1907, there will be assigned to him the following specific duties in the performance of which he will require the good will and cooperation of certain executive officials of the Dominican Government:

A. He will advise the proper Dominican officials in the settlement of all the outstanding indebtedness of the Republic;

B. He will make to the Dominican Government recommendations looking to the improvement of the system of public accountability;

C. He will make to the Dominican Government suggestions of equitable means of increasing the public revenues and of so adjusting the public disbursements thereto that deficits may be avoided;

D. He will inquire into the validity of any and all claims which may be presented against the Dominican Government and will advise the officials of the Government in advance of his views in the premises;

E. He will request information from time to time, through the Secretary of Finance and Commerce as to the public accounts of the Dominican Government and of the departments and bureaus thereof, in order that the Government of the United States may be assured that the public debt is not increasing, and will advise the Government of errors and discrepancies therein and will make recommendations looking to their adjustment or to the protection of the Government against irregularities.

The President hopes that the Dominican Government, in case the suggestions and recommendations of the general receiver are not adopted, will advise the United States Government of the reasons why they are not adopted. Such statements will be taken into consideration by the United States Government in determining its action on financial questions arising under the American-Dominican Convention of 1907.