838.51/2660b
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Armour)
Sir: We have been giving careful consideration to your despatches Nos. 30,55 31, 49 and 54,55 and to your letter dated May 19, 1933,55 to the Chief of the Latin American Division, all having to do with the question of treaty negotiations with the Haitian Government.
We have noted that President Vincent and other Haitian officials with whom you have discussed this question feel convinced that the proposed draft of the treaty in its present form would fail of ratification by the Haitian legislature, and that it would, therefore, be most [Page 747] inadvisable to submit it to the legislature. The Haitian Government has now, in its note to you dated May 16, 1933,56 proposed that we should proceed forthwith to sign an agreement for the Haitianization of the Garde and withdrawal of the Marine Brigade, and that the Haitian Government will then negotiate with you a protocol covering financial control for the period after the expiration of the 1915 Treaty. It is noted that the Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs has said to you that the phrase in the Haitian note of May 16, 1933, “on the basis of the principle of the guarantees already given” referred not only to the guarantees set out in the Treaty of 1915 and in Article VIII of the Protocol of 1919, but also to those included in Protocol B of the unratified September 3 Treaty. However, M. Blanchet was unwilling that this direct reference to Protocol B should be put in writing.
After careful consideration of the proposal outlined in the Haitian note of May 16, we authorize you to proceed on the following lines: You should refrain from making any written reply to the Haitian note of May 16, but should orally inform the Minister for Foreign Affairs that in order to lay this matter in more detail before your Government for its consideration you desire to know the terms of the protocol covering Haitianization of the Garde which the Haitian Government desires to propose, as well as the exact terms of the assurances which the Haitian Government will give as to the form of financial control to be embodied in a subsequent protocol. These assurances should be in writing.
For your own information, it is thought that upon receipt of the aforementioned assurances, if they appear reasonably satisfactory, we could suggest to the Haitians that on the basis of these assurances we should proceed at once to draw up a definite protocol covering financial control. We should then endeavor to reach agreement upon the terms of this protocol before agreeing to put into effect the protocol regarding Haitianization of the Garde and withdrawal of the marine brigade. In this connection it occurs to us that the protocol covering financial control might be treated as an executive agreement not requiring ratification by either Haiti or the United States. For your confidential information you are advised that, if necessary to reach agreement on the text of a financial protocol, the Department would be prepared to give favorable consideration to the concessions which you have recommended in your letter of May 19, 1933, provided the protocol were otherwise substantially in the terms of Protocol B of the unratified treaty. We believe, however, that it would be unwise for you to indicate anything of this nature to the Haitian officials until the Department has first had an opportunity to [Page 748] consider the assurances received from the Haitian Government as to financial control.
In your discussions we desire you to impress strongly on the President and Minister for Foreign Affairs the feeling of this Government that the Haitian Government should take early steps to settle definitively its pending boundary dispute with the Dominican Republic.57 The United States Government has for many years been lending its assistance to Haiti for the maintenance of tranquillity and the carrying out of plans for the permanent improvement and stability of that country. The existence of an unsettled boundary problem with Haiti’s neighbor obviously contains elements of possible future misunderstanding and even conflict between the two countries. We view it as most important that at the time when we are endeavoring to work out an agreement between Haiti and the United States looking to the ultimate termination of the special relations which have existed between the two countries, the Haitian Government, in agreement with the Dominican Government, should proceed without delay to reconstitute the Boundary Commission so that the Commission may proceed to a definitive demarcation of the frontier line between the two countries.
You will please keep the Department fully advised of the progress of your negotiations.
Very truly yours,