Office of the Historian
  1. Home
  2. Historical Documents
  3. Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1926, Volume II
  4. Document 327

882.51/1854: Telegram

The Chargé in Liberia ( Wharton ) to the Secretary of State

Monrovia , January 31, 1926—10 p.m.
[Received February 1—7:38 p.m.]

5. Principal loan modification[s]:12

(1)
Article VII. Omit words as a first lien. Add to (a), line 11, “and upon all revenues receivable on and after said date from head moneys, but”; (b) change to “In the event the above revenues should prove insufficient for the service of the loan, the Government undertakes to allocate from its other revenues such a sum as shall be sufficient to make up the deficiency.” Omit first paragraph of (c).
(2)
Page 8, line 13,13 omit words and direction. Line 21, omit words direct and control. Line 24, omit from word which to word hereof, line 28; and add “in accordance with the provisions of article VII (a) and (b) as modified by this act, or as may be provided from time to time by rules or regulations to be made effective for the purpose of carrying out the provisions and terms hereof.”
(3)
No assistant adviser and assistant auditor.
(4)
Reduction of Financial Adviser [to] $10,000; total of assistants, $18,000.
(5)
Article X changed to two million dollars fiscal [first] year, one half million dollars second year.
(6)
Frontier officers reduced to two total salaries $8,000.
(7)
Article XIII, 6, changed to agreement between the United States Financial Adviser and Secretary of the Treasury, disagreement decision of President of the Republic final. Article XVI eliminated.
(8)
Article XIX. Page 25, line 17, [words] auditor and adviser changed to [read] President of the Republic. (b) Commission eliminated substituting agreement of Secretary of the Treasury and Financial Adviser, disagreement decision of President of the Republic final.
(9)
Article XXVI changed [to] Secretary of State of the United States and Liberian Government shall collaborate in finding basis for final decision, no appointment of additional arbitrator.
(10)
“The President is hereby fully authorized and empowered to take all measures necessary to give effect to the provisions of the agreement subject to the provisions of this act.”

Constitutionality [Principal?] rubber modifications:14 (1) No tax exemption from emergency relief fund and for vehicles; (2) white employees limited 1,500; (3) rent liability when land selected; (4) welfare articles, interpretation of hospital supply and games; (5) agreement 2 years [sic], article IV, clause (d), omit words before so doing; (6) article IV, clause (n), Agreement 2, changed referring to courts for arbitration first, then Liberian Government agrees to [Page 518] arrange with Secretary of State of the United States for further arbitration. Liberian court arbitration specific procedure; (7) the President has power to put into effect agreements. Complete modifications mailed.

Wharton
  1. For text of draft loan agreement to which these modifications apply, see Foreign Relations, 1925, vol. ii, p. 463.↩
  2. This reference and the others in this paragraph are to art. vii.↩
  3. For texts of the three agreements to which these modifications apply, see Foreign Relations, 1925, vol. ii, pp. 450 ff.↩