868.5151/264
The Minister in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of
State
No. 3101
Athens, June 8, 1939.
[Received June
27.]
Sir: In reference to my telegram No. 93 of
May 26, and the Department’s telegraphic reply, No. 108 of June 5,
1939, concerning the obligation recently placed upon foreign
residents in Greece to convert their earnings into drachmas, I have
the honor to report that I saw Mr. Mavroudis, the Under Minister for
Foreign Affairs, this morning, and placed the matter before him in
the manner indicated by the Department. On leaving, I handed him the
enclosed Aide-Mémoire.
Mr. Mavroudis appeared to understand and sympathize with the attitude
expressed, and promised to bring the Aide-Mémoire promptly to the attention of the Minister of
Finance and other responsible authorities. He expressed doubt as to
whether the law could be amended, but thought that some way could be
found to accommodate our point of view.
I am informing my colleagues here of my action and believe that it
will soon be supported by similar representations on their part. But
in view of the urgency of the matter, and the Department’s
permission to act separately, it seemed best not to risk the
possible delays attendant on strictly parallel action.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
The American Minister (MacVeagh) to the Greek Permanent Under Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs (Mavroudis)
Aide-Mémoire
The American Minister had the honor of being received today by
His Excellency Mr. Nicholas Mavroudis, Permanent Under Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs, and of bringing to His
Excellency’s attention Article 12 of Greek Emergency Law No.
1704, published in the Government Gazette
(Volume I, No. 149) of April 14, 1939, the text of which reads
as follows:
“Any person established in Greece, who receives any
payments, commissions, or other profits in foreign
exchange by reason of business done in Greece, or any
remuneration in foreign exchange for services rendered
in Greece to persons established abroad, or as rental
for buildings, must sell the foreign exchange in
question to an authorized bank within three months after
its receipt.”
Mr. MacVeagh said that informal inquiries with regard to this
article of Law 1704 had failed to disclose any indication that
it was
[Page 611]
not to be taken
literally, or that it would not be applied, among others, to
American citizens, though exemption might be made in exceptional
cases on personal application. He had accordingly been
instructed to say that, in the opinion of the American
Government, the requirement of conversion of the earnings of
foreign residents into the currency of the country is a measure
destructive of the mutual advantages of residence and
establishment rights, and that, when applied by Greece to the
United States, which is the largest supplier of free exchange to
Greece, it lacks any equitable basis of reciprocity.
Regarding the practical aspects of the matter, Mr. MacVeagh
pointed out that the comparatively few American citizens who are
paid by concerns in the United States but work in Greece,
principally with the tobacco companies, the Standard Oil
Company, or in the American-supported schools, even though they
may remain here for a considerable period of time, depend on the
United States for their livelihood and must eventually return
there where the interests of themselves and their families lie.
While in this country, they need only enough drachmas to cover
their actual living expenses and similar expenditures, whereas
they need dollars in the United States to pay for leaves of
absence spent there, for insurance, for the education of their
children, and the like, and as savings, which would be useless
to them in drachmas. Investigation of individual cases with a
view to making just exemptions could only result in the uniform
establishment of the above facts, and yet would entail great
inconvenience to all concerned, including the authorities
themselves.
Mr. MacVeagh added that he hardly felt it necessary to remind His
Excellency that Greece receives millions of dollars annually
from the United States, remitted without restraint or control on
the part of the American authorities by Greek subjects and even
by American citizens of Greek origin residing and working
there.
Mr. MacVeagh said that he felt confident that the competent
Hellenic authorities would accord this matter a considerate
reexamination, in the light of the foregoing, and expressed the
hope that His Excellency would be able to give the Legation an
early and favorable reply for transmission to its
Government.
Athens, June 8, 1939.
