File No. 837.51/284
The Secretary of the Treasury (
McAdoo) to
the Secretary of State
Washington,
November 20, 1917.
Dear Mr. Secretary: Under date of November
7, Assistant Secretary Leffingwell wrote you enclosing copy of a
letter, dated October 29, from the Cuban Minister, which for the
time being terminated negotiations relative to a loan by this
Government to the Cuban Government. Mr. Gonzales, our Minister to
Cuba, informs me that the Cuban Government has, at the suggestion of
the State Department, made commitments for advances to the Cuba
Railroad, in order to insure getting out the next Cuban crop, and
that, at the suggestion of the Navy Department, has made contracts
for the purchase of submarine chasers. Mr. Gonzales further informs
me that the Cuban Government has relied upon receiving a loan of
$15,000,000 from this Government with which to meet these
commitments. I should like to have from you, therefore, a statement
of your views in order to ascertain if there is any moral obligation
to give Cuba financial assistance. I was not only willing, but glad
to make a loan to Cuba, and I was sorry that the Cuban Government
encountered legal obstacles for negotiating a loan on the basis that
had been outlined. I desire to have the above information because it
may be possible, if found advisable, to work out some plan to give
at least temporary assistance to Cuba.
Sincerely yours,
The Secretary of
State to the Secretary of the Treasury
(
McAdoo)
Washington,
December 1,
1917.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your communication of November-20, 1917,
requesting an expression of opinion from this Department as to
whether any moral obligation rests upon the Government of the
United States to give Cuba financial assistance. In reply I
desire to inform you that an examination of the correspondence
passed between the Department and the Cuban Government would
appear to show that a certain moral obligation does exist for
the reason that the American Minister to Cuba, under
instructions from the Department in preliminary conversations
respecting the proposed loan, especially recommended to the
Cuban Government that a certain portion of this loan, roughly in
the neighborhood of $3,000,000, be set aside for the purpose of
establishing a credit in favor of the Cuba Railroad, should this
railroad guarantee
[Page 315]
to
expend these moneys in the necessary improvements in roadbed and
additions to their rolling stock and in repairing the damages
done to the road during the last revolution.
Mr. Whigham, President of the Cuba Railroad, informed the
American Minister at Habana, that the Cuban Government has
assured him of credits in the neighborhood of $3,000,000, upon
the statement of which his railroad had undertaken large
improvements.
I have [etc.]
