800.51W89 Lithuania/120

The Acting Secretary of State to the Lithuanian Minister (Balutis)

Sir: In reply to your note of the fourteenth instant, I am directed by the President to say that due note has been taken of the payment by your Government of seven thousand dollars which you state is a tangible expression of the Lithuanian Government’s acknowledgment of its debt and is commensurate with its present ability to pay.

The President points out that it is not within his discretion to reduce or cancel the existing debt owed to the United States, nor is it within his power as President to alter the schedule of debt payments contained in the existing settlement. Such power rests with the Congress. The President states, however, that in view of your representations, of the payment, and of the acknowledgment of the debt, he has no personal hesitation in saying that he does not regard the Lithuanian Government as in default.

Accept [etc.]

William Phillips