File No. 838.51/476
Minister Blanchard to the Secretary of State
Port au Prince, February 15, 1916, 9 a.m.
Your radio February 12, 6 p.m. After three hours conference yesterday evening with the Minister for Foreign Affairs I find that it is impossible to repeal by executive decree Haitian law permitting attachment one-third salary of public employees nor can the Haitian Government take steps to make attachment impossible under the law. Therefore, to obtain desired ends it will be necessary to resort to military order suggested by Admiral Caperton.
In order to respect the law in so far as it applies to an honest debt and at the same time to accomplish the purpose of the United State to discourage pernicious system of discounting salaries and Government orders I recommend that the Admiral give military [Page 348] order to the Bank to respect attachment one-third salaries by court injunction debts only except when such injunctions are because of discounting salaries.