462.00R296/4042
Memorandum by the Secretary of State of a Conversation With the French Ambassador (Claudel)
The Ambassador called this afternoon (4:00 o’clock) and I reminded him of our conference two years ago in respect to the Bérenger Agreement,34 which resulted so happily, and told him I had another very important communication to make to him. I told him that the President was now engaged in sounding out the leaders of Congress on the following proposition—a suspension for one year of all intergovernmental debts, including all reparations, debts and relief debts, but excepting debts owed to private citizens. I pointed out that this last would except the portion of the unconditional annuities coming to France which had been commercialized and for which the service amounted to about fifteen millions per annum as I was informed. I told him that the President had not completed [Page 29] his conferences with the leaders of Congress, but had met with gratifying success thus far. I told him, however, that he had gone far enough to ascertain that no proposition except one which involved a suspension of all claims coming to every nation would have any chance of acceptance in Congress; that the proposition must be mutual or it would fail.
He asked me whether I had communicated with his colleague from Great Britain. I said that France was the first one to whom I had made the announcement. He asked me what I meant by relief debts. I told him that that was a term used for certain of the post war debts. He asked whether that would include all of the debts incurred by Austria. I then called up Under Secretary Mills and after conferring with him told the Ambassador that it would include the obligations owed by the Austrian Government on her so-called relief debts incurred in 1919, funded about 1921 to 1924, and refunded in 1930, these being the debts for feeding Austria; but that it would not include the so-called League of Nations debts incurred about 1924, and probably would not include the last ones which had probably been made by banks. I told him that the line of difference was between debts incurred to other governments and debts incurred to individuals or banks. But I told him that if in case he had any doubt on this matter he could consult with Mr. Mills, who would give him the exact figures on these obligations.
He said to me, “Speaking for myself, I think that this is a wonderful offer. I am very much surprised that the President could go so far.” I said to him, “I remember that in 1929, in the case of the Bérenger Agreement, the main factor in the success was the character of the note which you wrote to your own government, and I certainly hope that you will write a similar note this time.” He said he would do his best. I told him that I was going to consult the other nations, Great Britain, and probably Italy, if I could get hold of them this afternoon.
- Debt agreement between the United States and France, signed April 29, 1926. For text, see Combined Annual Reports of the World War Foreign Debt Commission, 1922–1926 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1927), p. 257. See also Foreign Relations, 1926, vol. ii, pp. 91 ff. The agreement was ratified by France on July 27, 1929.↩