837.61351/280
The Cuban Minister (Céspedes) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have the honor of bringing to Your Excellency’s knowledge that the Secretary of State of the Republic of Cuba has received a cablegram from the Chargé d’Affairs adinterim of Cuba in Berlin, dated July 30, 1921, informing him that the German Commercial Consortium desired to buy from Cuba a large quantity of sugar and, with this purpose, had requested prices and conditions.
The petition of the German Commercial Consortium was referred to the Cuban Sugar Financial Committee who, thereupon, sent a representative of said Committee to Berlin with the object of establishing contact with the prospective buyers.
[Page 802]This representative, who is Mr. C. Harold Mott,—now in Berlin—has informed the Cuban Sugar Financial Committee of his impressions on this sale; and the Committee has addressed the Department of State at Habana as follows:
“The representative whom we sent to Berlin, Mr. C. Harold Mott cables us that he considers possible to do business with Germany, but that it is necessary, first, to dispose of certain difficulties relating to price and conditions obtaining. We are now engaged in studying these matters, but there is a point in which the Cuban Government could help us very efficiently. It is the following: As Germany has to pay certain sums to the Allies as reparations, she could deliver as part of such payment to the French Government refined sugars proceeding from Cuban raws, and endeavors are being made in order to have the French Government accept this plan. It would be very convenient that the Government of the United States inform the French Government that it would view with pleasure that these negotiations should have a good result and we take the liberty of expressing to you the idea that the Government of Cuba, through its Legation in Washington, might endeavor to obtain such an expression to the French Government.”
I am instructed, by a dispatch from the Secretary of State of Cuba, dated August 15, 1921, to express to Your Excellency that, after having carefully considered this matter, the Cuban Government finds that the disposal of a considerable quantity of sugar to European buyers would very materially relieve the congested situation prevailing in the sugar market, and, at the same time, help to solve the financial crisis of Cuba that is engaging the attention of our respective governments. The Cuban Government, therefore, considers that a sale of sugar to the German Commercial Consortium, under the conditions outlined, would be in this order.
The United States Government would assist Cuba in her present difficulties, in a friendly way, if it could inform the French Government that it would regard with pleasure anything that that Government might be able to do in order to facilitate these negotiations on the basis already stated, because it would help Cuba,—recently associated to the United States and France, during the World War,—to remedy, to some extent, the situation prevailing as a consequence of the great production of sugar to which she was urged to meet the needs of the United States and the Allies at that critical moment.
I respectfully request to be informed if Your Excellency’s Government could assist Cuba by exerting its good offices in this matter.
With the renewed assurances [etc.]