121.5763/2

The Minister in Austria ( Washburn ) to the Secretary of State

No. 775

Sir: Referring to the Department’s instruction No. 735 [731] of April 21, 1925, in relation to the diplomatic recognition of Customs Representatives or Attachés, and my reply telegram No. 25 of May 13, 1925, 7 p.m.,69 I have the honor to submit the following report:

The above-mentioned Department instruction was received at this Legation on May 6. I made oral representations to the Foreign Minister, Dr. Mataja, on May 8. At that time, he gave me the oral assurances upon which my telegram was based in almost these precise words: “I know the story, we are not delighted at the prospect. (Wir sind gar nicht entzückt davon.) But it does not seem to me that the matter is of great importance to us. I am willing, in view of what you say, that diplomatic recognition should be accorded. We will do it quietly, and the less we say about it the better.” The following day, May 9, I addressed a confirmatory note to Dr. Mataja in which I took occasion to outline the duties of the Attachés in accordance with the hereinbefore-mentioned Department instruction No. 731. A copy of this note is enclosed herewith marked Annex 1.69 It will be observed that I distinctly stated therein that the Foreign Minister had been “good enough to say that it was agreeable to the Austrian Government to recognize such agents”. There is no controversy [Page 244] about this, but I emphasize it in order that the Department may fully understand my telegram No. 25.

Some time later in the month of May, in talking with Sektionschef Dr. Wildner to whom, as I knew, the matter had been referred, I became aware of some hitch, and it presently developed that the under-officials of the Foreign Office had taken the stand that official courtesy and procedure required that the interested departments of the Government, viz., the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce, should be invited to express their opinions. The Chamber of Commerce had, I learned, in turn communicated with various Austrian Chambers of Commerce, and it was evident that some protest rumblings had been heard, especially from a Vienna firm the importation of whose goods into the United States had under the law been prohibited. Nevertheless, Dr. Wildner did not seem to me to be inherently hostile, and I argued the matter with him at some length. He finally said to me, “If you will embody what you have said to me in a note which I can use with the Ministry of Commerce, I think it quite possible that the explanations you have made will overcome the existing objections.” He gave me the impression that he felt that the matter could be adjusted with a little patience. A copy of the note dispatched in accordance with this interview, dated May 28, is herewith enclosed marked Annex 2.70 It incorporates, as will be perceived, statements contained in Department circular instruction of April 2, 1925.

I have recently—a formal reply from the Foreign Office being still outstanding,—taken occasion to bring up the matter again orally. The official with whom I talked after a little hesitation told me in confidence that while it was true that the formal replies from the Departments of Finance and Commerce had not been received, the greatest obstacle now was a political one. It had been brought to the attention of the Austrian Government that other nations were raising serious objections to the diplomatic recognition of American Customs Representatives. England, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and the Scan-dinavian States, I recall among others whom he specifically mentioned in this connection. Germany, he said, was hesitating and uncertain as to what answer it would return. He gave me the distinct impression that some of the resident Chiefs of Missions, at least here in Vienna, had discussed the matter at the Austrian Foreign Office, probably in the interest of uniformity of action. As a case in point, Italy was mentioned, where it was said that it was found impossible to invest American Treasury representatives with powers and functions which, it was alleged, no corresponding Italian official had. It [Page 245] was of course recognized that an American Treasury official or Customs Representative would have no power to enforce his requests, but the mere fact that he was dignified with diplomatic status would put him in a place of vantage and be misunderstood by Italian manufacturers, who in many cases would assume that they must comply with requests made under such circumstances. I mention this merely as an illustration to show that some communication has passed between Vienna and Rome, whether the intermediary was the resident Italian Minister or the Austrian Minister at Rome I do not, of course, know. Austria, my informant said, was a small country, and wished to avoid being put in the position of being perhaps the only country to accord such recognition. He particularly inquired whether any other country had acted favorably upon a similar request. I assume that I might have mentioned Canada, but it did not seem to me, under the circumstances, that such an example would especially help. Finally, I was begged to regard the information given me as strictly confidential. The official with whom I talked has the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary. I took occasion to allude casually to the fact that in Vienna and Berlin, as well as in Paris and London, many obscure Soviet commercial representatives were carried on the diplomatic list. The force of this was frankly recognized. Apart from the fact that it might be conspicuous as presenting an isolated instance, the Minister thought that the diplomatic recognition of American Customs Representatives was not, in and of itself, so objectionable. Their functions and duties under diplomatic protection presented, however, a more serious question. So long as these Representatives acted without formal recognition, here at least their presence would be winked at and ignored. To accord them formal recognition might be embarrassing.

I shall not fail, of course, to keep this matter to the fore. There is no real hostility here, at least in the Foreign Office. On the other hand, up to a certain point a spirit of accommodation is evident. If any other nation, especially any European nation, has taken favorable action, I trust the Department will notify me,—preferably by cable.71 To cite a concrete case, or concrete cases, will greatly help. If I cannot do so, I despair of the final outcome.

I have [etc.]

Albert H. Washburn
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  2. Not printed.
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  4. On August 20 the Minister was informed that Hungary and Rumania had accorded diplomatic status to customs attachés. On December 23 the Minister was instructed that the Department was “inclined to consider the informal statements by officials of the [Austrian] Ministry for Foreign Affairs, reported in your despatch No. 775, as equivalent to a refusal of diplomatic status” (instruction No. 407, not printed; file No. 121.5763/4).