837.51 Public Works Debt/176
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of the American Republics (Briggs)
Mr. Crafts telephoned me this afternoon to express some concern over the failure of the Cuban Congress to act on the debt settlement legislation. He said that he had just talked by telephone with Mr. Brownson in Habana and that the latter reported that the Government appeared to be exerting no “pressure”, and that “things were drifting”. Mr. Crafts said that although he had obtained a further extension of the court (for thirty days—expires January 15, 1939), the court had been critical of the situation and of the failure of the company to report more substantial progress.
I told Mr. Crafts that in my opinion we were doing all that we properly could to indicate our continuing and unremitting interest in the enactment of appropriate legislation and that he could be assured that such interest would continue. I told him that as recently as this morning Ambassador Wright had mentioned the question to me by telephone and that the Embassy was following developments with the closest attention. I said that I would inform the Acting Secretary of Mr. Crafts’ telephone call and that in these circumstances it would not seem necessary for Mr. Crafts to seek the interview with Mr. Welles which he had previously mentioned.