891.51A/110

The Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Dulles) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Harrison)

Mr. Harrison: The Persian Minister called and left some further data regarding the political situation in Persia as given in telegrams he had received from his Government during the past few months. …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Persian Minister asked me whether there was anything further for him to do to hasten the Department’s decision regarding advisers. I replied that I felt that he had done everything that was possible and that the only thing for him to do now was to wait until the Secretary had a chance to fully consider the question. I gave the Minister to understand quite clearly that in my opinion the Department would not officially designate an adviser but that we would in all probability follow the precedent which had been set in the case of Mr. Shuster6 namely—to put him informally into contact with one or more men who might appear to us to be suitable and allow him or his Government to make the final selection.

The Minister seemed rather disappointed at this and indicated that when Mr. Fletcher had held up the whole negotiations last fall, he had indicated to the Minister orally that it would be much better [Page 526] for him to wait because the Department would be able to take a more active part in the selection of advisers and assume a greater degree of responsibility if the Persian Government would wait for Kornfeld’s arrival and the receipt of his report. The Minister said that at that time he was so disappointed at this turn of events that he had advocated to his Government that he be authorized to choose the American advisers himself. His Government had replied that he should take Mr. Fletcher’s advice and wait because the government desired men who would go to Persia with the full prestige of having been designated by the State Department.

I said that while I thought it quite probable that the Department could be of help to him in the selection of an Adviser that I did not feel that the Department could assume the responsibility of insisting that the Persian Government should take any one man rather than another but that I hoped a way could be found to cooperate with the Persian Minister in such a way as to leave him a certain amount of freedom in the selection of an Adviser but at the same time to make it quite clear that the person whom the Persian Government might choose would have the full confidence of the State Department.

The Persian Minister referred to the fact that his Government desired Agricultural as well as a Mining expert in addition to the Financial experts and he asked us to help in the selection of these Agricultural and Mining experts.

A. W. Dulles
  1. W. Morgan Shuster, Treasurer General and Financial Adviser of the Persian Government from May 1911 to Jan. 1912.