462.11W892/2421

The Secretary of State to the German Ambassador ( Luther )

Excellency: Referring to your note of February 4, 1934, regarding the entering of awards by the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, in the cases on which compromise settlements have been reached by the two Agents, I regret to have to state that this Government is very much disappointed by the decision of your Government. It is difficult for this Government to understand why the German Government, after having agreed to these compromise settlements which it must be assumed were considered to be fair and equitable, should now decline to have them presented to the Commission for the entering of awards, and should insist upon deferring such action until the work of the Commission shall be closed. Both Governments have from time to time indicated their desire to close the work of the Commission as expeditiously as possible. This is one method by which the work may be brought to a conclusion expeditiously. There would seem to be no purpose in withholding final action in these cases until the sabotage cases shall have been disposed of, since this would merely mean delaying still further the final conclusion of the Commission’s labors.

It will be recalled that several of these cases have never been passed upon by the Commission. Some of them, so I am informed, might properly be reopened under the decision of the Umpire of December 16 [15], 1933,93 as they do not depend upon newly discovered evidence, but rather upon alleged erroneous conclusions of law and findings of fact. If the cases were decided by the Commission on their merits, the awards, so I am informed, should materially exceed the amounts of the compromise settlements. I am therefore requesting that your Government reconsider its position and that this Government be informed as soon as practicable whether your Government will not now agree to have these compromise settlements promptly submitted to the Commission for approval, so that we may be that much nearer the termination of the work of the Commission.

Accept [etc.]

Cordell Hull
  1. Report of American Commissioner, Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, December 30, 1933, pp. 63, 76.↩