800.51 W 89Italy/28: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Italy ( Fletcher )
53. In an interview with me yesterday the Italian Ambassador repeated what he had informally stated previously to Mr. Castle,49 that his Government did not intend to do anything about the funding of the Italian debt to the United States until the French funding was arranged, and that whatever proposition his Government would make would be based on the French settlement, consideration being given to the fact that capacity of Italy to pay was not so great, even, as that of France. This was true, the Ambassador said, despite fact that Italian budget was in better condition than that of France by reason of imposition of taxes much higher than the taxes levied in France. He added that while he did not wish to notify this Government that Italy would not enter upon negotiations, he suggested that settlement with Italy should depend upon the settlement with France but with a margin of difference in Italy’s favor.
I told the Ambassador that the United States could not recognize this attitude; that question of settlement of the debts was one solely between the debtor governments and the Government of the United States, and was not dependent upon what was done with any other government; that the United States could not consent to have the Italian Government wait until settlement had been made with France. I again called his attention to the fact that settlement of the debts was solely in hands of the World War Foreign Debt Commission, which had been appointed by Congress, and that the Secretary of State had no authority to make terms but that whatever negotiations there were should take place with the Commission or a representative of the Commission.
The Ambassador asked if I had any objection to his talking with the Secretary of the Treasury (the chairman of the Commission) and I said that I had not, that I should be very glad if he would talk with [Page 164] Mr. Mellon. I reminded the Ambassador of the fact that in 1922 the Italian Government had informed the American Ambassador that it was prepared to send a representative to the United States to negotiate with the Debt Commission,50 and that I thought that the Italian Government should make this pronouncement effective and take up the matter of settlement of the debts without delay.
- Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs, Department of State.↩
- See telegram No. 126, July 27, 1922, 1 p.m., from the Ambassador in Italy, Foreign Relations, 1922, vol. i, p. 406.↩