839.51/3871
The Minister in the Dominican Republic (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 6.]
Sir: Referring to my despatch No. 827 of February 28, 1933, reporting the recommendations proposed to be made by the Financial Adviser of the Dominican Government, Mr. William E. Dunn, to the President of the Republic for the early enactment of legislation extending the Emergency Law one year beyond its present date of expiration, granting authority to the Executive Power to deal with the Advisory Committee recently set up in New York to study a plan of readjustment of the amortization rate on this Government’s external debt and authorizing the Executive to meet the expenses incident to these negotiations from the cash surplus in the Emergency Fund, I have the honor to inform the Department that I learned yesterday from Mr. Dunn that he had submitted his recommendations to the President of the Republic in a personal interview on March 1st.
Mr. Dunn informed me that the President seemed to be favorably inclined towards his recommendations as described in the enclosure to my despatch above cited. He said that on yesterday morning, March 2nd, the President had summoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance into consultation on the subject. Mr. Dunn, however, was not included in the invitation to attend this conference.
I have not been informed of the result of the President’s conference with the two Cabinet officers or other members of the Government whom he may have consulted. Indeed, I have not discussed the matter with any Dominican official other than the Financial Adviser. To the latter I have said, as previously reported, that I was not in a position to express any opinion regarding the proposed procedure and I have confined myself to hearing Mr. Dunn’s outline of his recommendations [Page 627] and the facts which in his opinion justify them. If this Government accepts the Financial Adviser’s recommendations and if I am consulted by any member of the Dominican Government, it is my intention, unless otherwise instructed, to suggest that regardless of the merits of the proposed procedure it would seem appropriate for the Dominican Government, in view of the forthcoming change of administration in the United States, not to be needlessly precipitate in enacting the proposed legislation or in transmitting formal notice to the American Government of the proposal to enact this legislation.
Respectfully yours,