840.48 Refugees/1662: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 9—5:35 p.m.]
813. From Pell.
1. At luncheon today with Baerwald, Linder, Achilles57 and myself, Emerson outlined in strict confidence the following proposal, which he described as a purely personal one but one which he was prepared to present to the British Government and, if the reaction of that Government were favorable, subsequently to our Government and to the Intergovernmental Committee:
An attempt should be made to raise $100,000,000 over a period of 5 years to facilitate the emigration from Europe of persons coming within the sphere of action of the Intergovernmental Committee. Within that limit governments would match dollar for dollar the amounts raised by private subscription. The money would be raised by the sale to the public and to governments of securities which would be non-interest bearing for the first 3 years and pay 3% thereafter. They would be redeemable at the end of 25 years. The fund would be administered by an international organization of which the board of directors and the executive director would be chosen in agreement with the principal governments concerned. It would be used not only to finance mass settlement but for advances to individuals to assist their infiltration into other countries. The fund would be semi-charitable and semi-commercial, as the payment of interest and repayment of a substantial portion of capital is envisaged through the repayment of advances and the profit of individual settlement corporations.
It was emphasized to him that participation by our Government would of course require action by Congress, that while our Government might be inclined to consider such a proposal sympathetically, particularly if the British Government accepted it, it would be unwise in the extreme to count upon ultimate favorable action by Congress, and that in any event many months at least would be necessary to put such a scheme into operation. He recognized these obstacles but expressed the belief that a major financial effort, including governmental [Page 123] participation, was essential to deal in a practical manner with the problem, that he would not press it unless it should be accepted by the British Government, that the members of the Intergovernmental Committee could of course only accept it ad referendum, that time would naturally be necessary, but that even preliminary steps along these lines would produce greater results in Germany than the setting up of the Foundation or the establishment of particular settlement corporations. Baerwald and Linder expressed the belief that governmental participation was essential and that such participation on a dollar for dollar basis would be of the greatest assistance in the difficult task of raising funds from private sources.
2. Emerson had seen Winterton and Waley this morning and we assume that he would not have made such a proposal without the prior knowledge and approval of at least the Treasury and probably other governmental circles here. His proposal accordingly bears a certain significance and appears to merit more than passing consideration.
3. The motivation is not clear. Both the new court group and the American private negotiators have been insistent on the necessity for governmental participation in financing settlement and it is believed that the proposal originated with the former. We feel that Emerson is sincere but are less sure of the motives of those behind him. One possible explanation would be that this is an effort to confuse and distract the current efforts to set up the Foundation although Emerson expressed no absolute objection to having the Foundation set up without delay entirely independently of anything which may be done along the lines of his proposal. Another possible explanation would be that British private and governmental circles, believing that Congress would never authorize participation by our Government, wish to evade all responsibility and place upon us the onus, before American Jewry and international public opinion, for eventual failure of the plan.
4. Hitherto the discussions between the American and British private financial groups have been held up owing to the refusal of the British side to consider the establishment of a Foundation which would not be directly related to the financing of settlement, notably of British Guiana. The Americans have not been in a position to make the slightest concession on this point of view of their instructions from New York. This morning, however, the British seemed to concede the principle of an independent Foundation but declared that to meet the requirements of a basis neither they acting independently nor they acting in concert with other European groups, with which they are in close touch, would be prepared to assume 50% of the financing. [Pell.]
- Mr. Achilles had been sent to London as Third Secretary of Embassy. May 11, 1939.↩