838.51/2746: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Armour)
85. Your 130, December 1, 8 p.m.
- 1.
- In view of publication of documents in Haiti I gave to the press on December 2 for background purposes the gist of the Secretary’s [Page 773] radio messages (see Department’s 83, December 1, 4 p.m.) and of President Roosevelt’s reply to President Vincent. I also gave out the text of a translation of President Vincent’s letter and of the Department’s letter to the American Civil Liberties Union.
- 2.
- Please telegraph as soon as you have delivered President Roosevelt’s reply to President Vincent, in order that we may make the text public,80 if that should seem advisable.
- 3.
- For your information the following telegram dated December 2 has
been received from the Secretary:
“The Haitian delegation called on me today and spoke particularly of the desire of the Haitian Government that our financial control be withdrawn through the designation by our Government of the National Bank of Haiti in place of the Financial Adviser-Receiver General for the service of the Haitian debt, claiming that such action would be in accord with existing treaties and agreements and contracts. I explained that I did not have the texts of the treaties and documents in the matter, and that it would be necessary for me to study them before making a decision in any such matter, and that furthermore, it would be more appropriate if any suggested methods for the accomplishment of the withdrawal of financial control were to be made by the Haitian Government through the American Minister at Port-au-Prince.
I gathered that the above mentioned substitution will be suggested by the Government at Port-au-Prince.
I told the delegation that I could assure them that any suggested method of effecting the withdrawal of our control would receive the sympathetic consideration of the Department, and that if the Haitian Government proposes as a method of withdrawing American Government participation in financial control in Haiti that the National Bank of Haiti be substituted for the Receiver General and Financial Adviser for the service of the debt, that the Department will give this proposal, or the proposal of any other method which may be suggested, consideration in the light of the present policy of our Government toward withdrawal of financial control—having in mind our Government’s obligations in the matter. I stated to the Haitian delegation that being unfamiliar with the contractual obligations of our Government, I could not pass upon the proposal either pro or con.”
- The text was released to the press on December 5.↩