883.927/124
The President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ( De Forest ) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 27.]
Dear Mr. Kellogg: During my absence from New York in June, the Museum received from Mr. G. Howland Shaw, Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, a copy and translation of the Aide Memoire dated May 26, 1926, received by Minister Howell at Cairo from the Egyptian Foreign Office.34 This Aide Memoire concerned the interpretation of Article 10 of the Egyptian antiquities regulations and was in reply to the representations which your Department had made to the Egyptian Government on behalf of this and other American institutions engaged in archaeological work in Egypt.
It gives me great pleasure now to inform you that at a meeting of the Executive Committee of our Trustees which has just been called for the purpose, it was voted to accept the Egyptian Government’s assurances of liberal intentions expressed in the said Aide Memoire, as a gratifying recognition of the claim of the excavation and, under the modifying clauses to be inserted in Article 10 as there agreed, to again resume the Museum’s excavations in Egypt—the continuation of these excavations to be always dependent upon a fair and liberal interpretation of this amended Article 10 by the administration of the Egyptian Service des Antiquites.
I beg to express to you, and through you to Messrs. Shaw, Dulles and Wadsworth of your Department, the gratification and heartiest thanks of our Board for these results which your splendid efforts have gained for us and which we have every hope may prove of lasting benefit to all scientific work in Egypt.
May I further ask you, in communicating with Dr. Howell, to express to him also the fullest appreciation of our Board for all he has done to secure these hopeful concessions and to make it possible for us to look forward to renewing the work in which he has always shown the greatest interest on every side.
Believe me [etc.]