765.84/4613
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray)
The decree to which Mr. Engert refers in the attached telegram,96 if enforced, would of course be an invasion of the extraterritorial rights accorded American nationals in Ethiopia by Article 3 of the American-Ethiopian Treaty of June 27, 1914.97 This Article reads as follows:
“The two contracting governments shall reciprocally grant to all citizens of the United States of America and to the citizens of Ethiopia all the advantages which they shall accord to the most favored Power in respect to customs duties, imposts and jurisdiction.”
Inasmuch as the Franco-Ethiopian Treaty of January 10, 1908,98 accords French nationals extraterritorial rights, we profit by the same treatment.
It seems to me that the first step to take is to ask Mr. Engert to keep us informed of developments and of any instructions which his colleagues may have sought or received. Depending upon the nature of the information which Mr. Engert sends us, we can consider at a later date the advisability of asking our Embassies in Paris and London to ascertain what the French and British Governments propose to do in this matter.
- Supra.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1920, vol. ii, p. 243.↩
- British and Foreign State Papers, vol. ci, p. 997.↩