837.00/2245: Telegram
The Representative on Special Mission in Cuba (Crowder) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:08 p.m.]
51. My best judgment is that it would be helpful in overcoming anticipated obstruction by the Cuban Senate to legislative measures deemed by me vitally necessary in this country if the Secretary could see his way clear to give out a statement before leaving for Rio de Janeiro substantially as follows:44
“Advices received from Cuba indicate substantial progress toward a definite and satisfactory solution. The confusion, resulting from the many grave and complex problems that have arisen during the past year, is apparently being dissipated through the consolidation of the many diversified opinions regarding proper solutions into a definite program of legislative measures evolved, after long study and discussion, by the leaders of Cuban political and financial life; a program whose proper execution will constitute an important step in carrying out a proper and necessary policy of reconstruction and reform in the national administration.
The program includes the passage and execution of five fundamental measures: First, a bill providing for the modification of certain provisions of the civil service law and the suspension of others, which will enable the Executive to organize rapidly and effectively all the Executive departments and particularly the service of collecting revenues and controlling expenditures; second, a bill providing for a better and stricter system of accounting; third, a bill creating a special commission for the investigation and precise definition of the Government’s floating indebtedness; fourth, a bill rendering more effective certain portions of the judicial procedure and facilitating the removal of members of the judiciary; fifth, a bill evolved from and based upon the financial program recently proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Despaigne, providing for the contraction [sic] of a foreign loan for the settlement of the floating indebtedness and the initiation of the public works, together with the creation of new taxes for the service of a loan.
[Page 1037]The first of these measures has already had the approval of both Houses and is before a conference committee to iron out differences between the two Houses. The second and third have had the approval of the Lower House and await the approval of the Cuban Senate. The fourth has also been favorably received by the Lower House, [approved] in principle and will be read at an early date, article by article, for amendment. The fifth providing for a national loan will be considered and probably finally disposed of by the Lower House this week and sent to the Senate. This fifth bill will, when finally enacted, have to be considered by the Department in determining its action under article 2 of the permanent treaty.
It is to be confidently expected that within a very short period the measures to which I have referred and which appear to be vitally necessary to carrying out the policy of large reconstruction and reform will have been enacted into law in satisfactory form. The proper execution of this legislative program, evolved and consequently [sic] as I have said by the leaders of Cuban national life, will undoubtedly go far, not only toward the restoration of tranquillity and confidence throughout the Island, but also toward the normalization and betterment of business conditions generally.”
If, in this proposed statement, I have gone farther in giving a qualified advance approval of the loan bill than the Department desires to go at this moment, the phraseology should be modified accordingly.