462.00R296/5301
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray) of a Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the Greek Minister (Simopoulos)
The Greek Minister called on the Secretary on November 4, 1931, under instructions from his Government, to make an urgent appeal in the matter of Greece’s position under the President’s proposal and the payment due this Government by the Greek Government on November 10, 1931.
Mr. Simopoulos described in some detail the embarrassing situation in which Greece now finds herself by reason of the fact that her conditional acceptance of the Hoover proposal has not been considered adequate by the Department and by reason of the fact that the Treasury Department is demanding the above-mentioned payment due by Greece in the absence of a statement by this Department that Greece has accepted the President’s proposal.
The Secretary told the Greek Minister that he had every sympathy for Greece in her present dilemma. The Secretary, however, reminded Mr. Simopoulos that he was without authority to dictate to the Treasury in such matters, the Treasury being obligated to act only in accordance with the law. He explained that if Mr. Simopoulos could supply him either with a statement that the Greek Government had already settled its dispute with the Bulgarian Government, or that the Greek Government was prepared to accept the President’s proposal in respect of the suspension of intergovernmental debts for the period from July 1, 1931 to July 1, 1932, the Secretary would be willing to use his influence with the Treasury to obviate the necessity of demanding that Greece make the payment due on November 10, next. The Secretary explained further that without such prior assurances from the Greek Government it would be useless for him to take the matter up with the Treasury.