640.0031 Danube/97
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Castle) of a Conversation With the Rumanian Minister (Davila)
The Rumanian Minister asked me what the Department thought of the proposed Danubian Confederation. I told him that we felt a good understanding economically between these five smaller nations would lead to a revival of prosperity in that part of Europe and that the economic understanding would lead to better political [Page 854] understanding. He asked me whether, if these nations had special agreements with each other as to tariff matters, we would refuse to accept the agreement. I said that I could not, of course, answer such a question directly since I did not know upon what bases the arrangements would be made, but that I believed it would be the wish of this Government to help on such an agreement in every way possible, on condition, of course, that treatment by the Confederation of all the great powers should be the same. The Minister asked me whether the American Government would join in the program of financial relief. I told him that, as he must know already, the American Government did not advance money itself, but that if the scheme proceeded in the way we hoped it would, the American Government would not oppose the participation in this program of American banking houses.