860h.51/225d
The Secretary of State to Messrs. Blair and Company
Gentlemen: I desire to confirm the telegram addressed to you by this Department on June 13, as follows:
“Referring to my telegram of May twenty-five, the Department, in the light of the information before it and in view of the assurances received from the Yugoslav Government, regarding the objects and uses of the loan proceeds, has no objection to the proposed loan in the amount of Twenty-five Million Dollars. Any additional sums will have to be subject of separate consideration”.
There is enclosed for your further information a statement summarizing the assurances received from the Yugoslav Government with respect to the purposes and uses of the proceeds of the proposed loan in the amount of $25,000,000. Understanding that the proceeds of the loan will be used in the manner outlined in the attached memorandum, this Department, in the light of the information before it, offers no objection to the proposed financing. You of course realize that this Department, in expressing the above opinion, assumes no responsibility in the matter, and does not in any way pass upon the merits of the proposed financing as a business proposition.
It is understood by the Department that the proposed Railway and Port Construction Company, which it is proposed to incorporate in Guernsey on account of its international character and for taxation purposes, will be controlled by your firm, and that all of the loan will be floated in the United States. Furthermore, it is understood that it is proposed to provide a differential of 5% in favor of American firms that may desire to bid on the above-mentioned work.
I am [etc.]
Assistant Secretary