352.115 Royal Typewriter Co./1: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in Spain (Thurston) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 27—2:20 a.m.]
567. The Royal Trust Mecanografico, Sociedad Anonima Espanola, claiming that its total stock issue is owned by American citizens and which is the Spanish distributing agency for the Royal Typewriter Company of New York, has requested that representations be made in its behalf to prevent the collectivization by the employees thereof of its Barcelona branch pursuant to the decree of the Generalidad dated October 24, 1936; it alleges that such collectivization would involve the total loss of the American interests concerned and of the stocks of the Royal Typewriter Company not yet paid for.
The Consulate General at Barcelona, to which I referred the case for comment, states “It is believed that any protest against the effect of collectivization in a particular instance might constitute tacit recognition ‘acceptance of collectivization’”, and that “it appears that the first point is whether collectivization is legal under the constitution of the Republic and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. The second point is that the collectivization decree may apply to Royal Trust Mecanografico”.
The Embassy’s files do not indicate that a precedent exists for representations with respect to the collectivization of an American enterprise. It would appear however that inasmuch as collectivization is a reality representations in behalf of an affected American interest would be proper.