852.00/4085: Telegram
The Consul General at Barcelona (Perkins) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received December 13—10:13 p.m.]
I received last evening an invitation from the Councilor of Economy to attend this morning a meeting of the Consular Corps at which there would be broached a project for the construction of a free international zone in this port. Since I did not have time to seek the Department’s instructions and since the proposal seemed likely to contain ulterior motives [I decided not to attend in person or to send a representative].9a
An official announcement was made this morning saying that the consular body welcomed the proposal; that the zone would be distinguished by special flags and by lights at night to spare it from bombardment; that it would serve to assure the provisioning of Catalonia and that the Government was making extraordinary efforts to restore international trade.
- Corrected on the basis of despatch No. 146, December 14, 1936, from the Consul General at Barcelona, received December 31, 1936.↩