File No. 838.51/432a.
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Navy.
Washington, October 30, 1915.
Sir: The Department is informed that, owing to the fact that no remittances of customs receipts from duties pledged to the service of the foreign loans of the Republic of Haiti, of 1875, 1896 and 1910, are being made by Admiral Caperton to the National Bank of Haiti at Port au Prince, the Bank is not purchasing coffee drafts on Paris, which are now said to be discounted at 12 per cent.
Desiring to assist Haiti in improving her financial status, and in order to furnish the Bank with funds to purchase drafts on Paris, to give confidence to the bondholders of the foreign debt of Haiti and to facilitate coffee exports, and thereby to increase customs receipts, I have the honor to request that you be good enough to inquire of Admiral Caperton, by telegraph, whether it would be possible to pay to the Bank any part of the duties now collected by him, pledged to the service of the foreign loans above mentioned, without substantially affecting the expenditures for constabulary, public works, et cetera, or curtailing the weekly advances to the Haitian Government.
In this connection it might be advisable to inform the Admiral that it is intended to commence active organization of the constabulary immediately a modus vivendi is entered into; that the plan under consideration contemplates an annual appropriation of some $500,000; and that provision should be made for an appropriation to meet initial expenditures for organization.
I have [etc.]