882.01 Foreign Control/185a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Geneva (Gilbert)
9. For Reber. Department’s telegram No. 5, January 8, 6 p.m., last paragraph. The Finance Corporation has submitted a confidential statement of conditions in which it might be willing to advance further funds to Liberia, incorporated for convenience in the form of a Supplementary Agreement between the Finance Corporation and the Liberian Government. The draft provides for the administration of Liberia during a period of rehabilitation through the establishment of a Commissioner Generalship, and the plan of administration in general follows the recommendation contained in the Report of the Experts, except that various provisions have been considerably tightened. In view of experience with adviserships in the past, the Department is in entire sympathy with this attitude and feels moreover, that unless complete executive and administrative control is granted for a period of probably 10 years, no genuine reforms or rehabilitation could be achieved.
The essential features are as follows, certain comments on the part of the Department by which you should be guided being given hereafter.
- I.
- Introduction. An administration by foreign officials under the direction of an American citizen as Commissioner General, who would exercise all the authority of the Financial Adviser under the [Page 688] 1926 Agreement, plus the additional authority provided by the Supplementary Agreement. His authority would extend over the foreign officials and subordinate employees of the several branches of administration, and that authority would be exclusive of any exercise of authority by any official of the Liberian Government.
- II.
- The Commissioner General would be designated by the President of the United States to the President of Liberia and immediately appointed to office by the latter. The President of the United States alone would cause the removal of the Commissioner General and only upon complaint by the President of Liberia, or the Finance Corporation of America for sufficient cause shown. (Commented upon hereafter).
- III.
- The Commissioner General would appoint the foreign administrators subordinate to him, and they would be removable only by the Commissioner General.
- IV.
- The officials of the Commissioner Generalship would exercise exclusive control over fiscal matters and the budget both as to collection and distribution of all funds; over county, hinterland and tribal administration; over the judiciary including controlling voice in court procedure and provisional suspension of jury systems; over public health, quarantine and sanitation; and over the Frontier Force acting as constabulary and not as military, the executive officer of which would be responsible to the Commissioner General alone.
- V.
- The Commissioner General would be empowered to delegate any or all of his authority to subordinate administrators. Provision is made for an Acting Commissioner General with full authority during absence or incapacity of Commissioner General.
- VI.
- Financial provisions. These relate to the suspension of paragraph 5 Article X of the Loan Agreement and cover the extension of $1,000,000 face value of bonds during 5 years, taken up at 90. A provision is included that none of the funds obtained as above be applied to the payment of arrears of salary due Liberian Government officials and/or employees, or other accumulated unpaid accounts of floating debts.
- VII.
- The Government of Liberia would agree that during the life of the Supplementary Agreement and of the Agreement of 1926 it would not enter into any treaty or agreement or grant any concessions which would impair the rights of the Finance Corporation or the Fiscal Agent under the 1926 or Supplementary Agreements, or which would prevent or hinder the fulfillment by the Government of Liberia of its obligations thereunder.
- VIII.
- The determination of the Commissioner General would be final as to any question of interpretation of the meaning of the Supplementary [Page 689] Agreement or the Loan Agreement of 1926 which might arise between the Government of Liberia and himself.
- IX.
- Any disputes between the Government of Liberia and the other parties to the Supplementary Agreement or the Loan Agreement of 1926 to be submitted to the Secretary of State of the United States of America who would appoint a referee to render a decision. (Commented upon hereafter)
- X.
- The expiration of the Supplementary Agreement would coincide with the expiration of the Loan Agreement of 1926, provided that at the end of a pre-determined period, say 10 years, the Commissioner Generalship could be reviewed upon application by either Liberia or the Finance Corporation, and upon such review might with the consent of the bondholders be modified or dispensed with by direction of such agency as should be designated for the purpose by the Secretary of State. Provided that if in the foregoing circumstances the administrative organization of the Commissioner Generalship should be dispensed with, the administrative provisions of the Loan Agreement of 1926 would continue in full force.
While the Department has not expressed approval or disapproval of the proposal as a whole, the following confidential memorandum was given to Mr. Howe after consultation with the President of January 11 last, the former being informed that the text would be transmitted to you:
“Inasmuch as the Liberian question is at present being handled by the League of Nations, the President would be unwilling to accept responsibility in the matter except upon request by the League of Nations.
However, the Liberian question is essentially a matter of international concern and consequently, while should the League so request the President might name a Commissioner General to exercise supervisory functions during a period of Liberian rehabilitation, he believes that jurisdiction during this time should be exercised by the League through an international committee on which the United States would be represented, and that the American member of this committee might refer any final major actions to this Government.”
This refers particularly to paragraphs 2, 9 and 10 of the foregoing.