838.51/3492: Telegram
The Minister in Haiti (Mayer) to the Secretary of State
[Received 4:56 p.m.]
126. Legation’s 124, November 23, 3 p.m.46 In a conversation Pixley has just had with Leger concerning the French loan the latter said that he had now received a telegram signed “Bellamy” from the principals in Paris stating that they were awaiting his arrival there to sign the contract. The principals presumably are the “fonds des bien privees” the semiofficial French institution mentioned in the fourth paragraph of my 121, November 22, 4 [3] p.m. According to Leger Entreprise Lajoinie is to have charge of public works construction and [Page 558] to collect six or seven percent commission on them; that there is no provision that materials must be bought in France and that the loan is in dollars. Leger further indicated to Pixley that his reason for wishing to keep the loan matter secret for the time being was in order to prevent the 1910 bondholders from learning of the loan as there is nothing in it to satisfy them and they might bring influence to bear on the Foreign Office to block it.
Leger further informed Pixley that he expected to receive on Sunday the letter said to have been mailed in Paris on November 18 (see second paragraph of my 124, November 23, 3 p.m.) and anticipated leaving by plane on Tuesday en route to France to be accompanied by De la Rue. While in the United States Leger would discuss the whole affair with the Department.
In order to have everything prepared Leger said that there was to be a Cabinet meeting this morning to approve the loan and to give Leger authority to go to Paris to sign the contract. Leger added that he would permit news of this meeting to leak out today in order to encourage public opinion and help divert it from the Dominican affair. Pixley indicated to Leger the danger of such action if the loan project should not eventuate but Leger thought that this was not a sufficient reason to change his proposed procedure with regard to the Cabinet meeting, et cetera.
Pixley understands that this famous letter of November 18 was mailed by Barclay’s Bank in Paris.
We also understand that the engineer of the Entreprise Lajoinie with whom Leger dealt here and with whom he has been communicating in Paris is named Dauvin.
- Not printed.↩