868.51 Public Works/107
The Minister in Greece (Skinner) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 18.]
Sir: I have the honor to confirm my telegram of today26 to the effect that by mutual consent the loan contract of Messrs. J. & W. Seligman & Company with the Hellenic Government has been cancelled, and to enclose herewith for the strictly confidential information of the Department copies of the letters exchanged.26
The cancellation arose from the fact that, despite the efforts exerted by Mr. Venizelos and by the Department of State at Washington, the International Financial Commission, sitting in Athens, declined to take over the service of the loan in accordance with the terms of the contract. It is possible that Messrs. Seligman & Company would have been willing to accept a modified contract, had it been possible for the Hellenic Government to obtain payment of balances liberated [Page 109] by the International Financial Commission into the hands of a similar American commission, but existing legal arrangements required that such balances should be put into the Bank of Greece and the American bankers were not willing to look to the Bank of Greece for the satisfaction of their requirements.
The Prime Minister is very fortunate in having more abundant tax receipts than he had anticipated, with a consequent balance of funds sufficiently large to go on with the various contracts for public works for some time to come, without having recourse to a public loan. However, as soon as the operations in the Struma Valley have been so advanced that a larger body of men can be employed, a public loan will become inevitable.
. . . . . . .
I have [etc.]