839.51/2575
Memorandum by the Commissioner in the Dominican
Republic (Welles)3
of a Conversation With the Confidential Agent of
President Vasquez (Morales)
[Extract]
Washington, April 8,
1925.
I
Señor Angel Morales, former Minister of the Interior and Police in the
Cabinet of President Vasquez, arrived in Washington on March 27, as the
Confidential Agent of the President to take up with the Department of
State various matters of interest to this Government, principally
certain questions affecting the interpretation to be given certain
articles in the Convention signed December 27, 1924, at present pending
ratification by the Dominican Government.
The chief purpose of Señor Morales’ visit was to ascertain whether the
Government of the United States would see any objection
[Page 50]
to the ratification by the Dominican
Congress of the new Convention with certain reservations contained in a
draft which he handed to me, which project contained, as well, in the
law of ratification certain limitations to be placed by the Congress
upon the Executive in the negotiation of the loan of $25,000,000
contemplated in the Convention. (See Annex A.)4 After discussion of this
project, I suggested to Mr. Morales the desirability of modifying the
proposed limitations to be placed upon the Executive’s authority so that
the Executive would be permitted as much freedom as possible in his
dealings with the bankers. These modifications were at once accepted by
the President, who was kept in touch, during the course of our
conferences, by cable, with all developments. The reservations
contemplated in the law of ratification are identical with those
reservations contained in the law ratifying the Convention of 1907. I
inquired of Señor Morales whether, should the new Convention be ratified
in this manner, the Dominican Government would be satisfied with a reply
from the Department of State identical in substance to the reply
addressed by Secretary Root to the Dominican Minister in Washington when
he was notified by the latter of the ratification of the Convention of
1907 in a similar manner.5 Señor Morales
stated that such a reply would be entirely acceptable to his Government.
Duplicate copies of the proposed law of ratification were prepared and
these copies were initialed by Señor Morales and myself. One of these
copies is attached hereto as Annex B. The proposed law of ratification
in the form initialed was approved by the Secretary upon the
understanding that the reply of our Government above indicated would be
acceptable to the Dominican Government as Señor Morales advised me.6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Enclosure—Annex B]
Draft Resolution for the Dominican National
Congress Approving the Convention of December 27,
1924
The National Congress, etc.,
In view of the Convention signed ad referendum
in Washington by Representatives of the Government of the United
States and of the Dominican Government, which is as follows—(Here
follows the Convention in extenso.)
Inasmuch as the Dominican Republic has expressed in the second
paragraph of the preamble of the Treaty of Evacuation entered into
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with the United
States,7 approved by the National Congress on July
14, 1924, and promulgated upon the same date by the Executive Power,
its invariable understanding with regard to the rights inherent in
its sovereignty; that the Government of the United States has stated
in the same treaty that “it has never had and does not have the
intention of infringing upon the sovereignty and independence of the
Dominican Nation”; and that the National Congress understands that
in ratifying the Convention above quoted it modifies in no manner
these declarations of both Governments to which reference has been
made;
Inasmuch as it is the intention of the Dominican Congress to
maintain, as in effect it does maintain, the understanding expressed
in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the preamble of the Resolution of the National
Congress ratifying, in May 1907, the Dominican-American Convention
signed on February 8, 1907, which were approved by the Government of
the United States and read as follows:
- (a)
- As to Article I: It is understood that the employees
mentioned in that article do not in any case include those
who are to be appointed by the Dominican Executive Power in
customhouses of the Republic in accordance with our existing
laws.
- (b)
- As to Article II: The protection of the Receiver General
and his assistants by the American Government shall only
take place in case the Dominican Government shall find it
impossible to extend it.
Inasmuch as in accordance with the sense of the text of the sixth
paragraph of the preamble of the Convention last submitted to the
Dominican Congress, one of the principal objects of the said new
Convention is “to provide for the refunding on terms more
advantageous to the Republic of its obligations”, etc.,
In the exercise of its Constitutional faculty, has approved the
following law:
- Article I.—To approve, as in
effect it does approve, within the limits of the
understanding above expressed, the Convention signed ad referendum in Washington on
December 27, 1924, the text of which has been incorporated
in the present law.
- Article II.—The loan which the
Executive Power is authorized to negotiate in accordance
with the terms of this Convention shall be made upon the
following condition:—
- (a)
- That the period fixed for its total amortization
shall not exceed that legally fixed for the
amortization of the prior loans of which bonds are
still outstanding;
- (b)
- That the terms of issuance of the bonds of the new
loan shall not be less favorable than the terms upon
which the bonds of the prior loans now outstanding
were issued;
- (c)
- That all moneys obtained by the Government from
the said loan after the refunding operation has been
effected shall be devoted exclusively to permanent
public improvements and to other projects designed
to further the economic and industrial development
of the country.
- A[ngel] M[orales]
- S[umner] W[elles]
