800.51W89 Czechoslovakia/233
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State
The Czechoslovak Minister called to say that he had received a reply from his Government with respect to the token payment to be made by Czechoslovakia on December 15th. He had previously offered $150,000, which was $30,000 less than the payment made in June last. I had requested him to refer the matter again to his Government in the hope that the same amount could be paid in December and thus avoid explanations as to why his Government could not make the same payment as in June.
The Minister said that his Government could not raise the offer of $150,000; that the difference in payment between June and December was for domestic political reasons; that Beneš had been very seriously attacked by the opposition for making any payment at all; and that the Czechoslovak Government has also been criticised by the French Government for separating itself from the French policy with respect to debt payments. He pointed out that on a percentage basis the payment in question would be considerably higher than the British December token payment. I expressed my disappointment and said I would be glad to take the matter up with the President.