391.1164/87½
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs ( Murray ) to the Under Secretary of State ( Welles )
Dr. Ali Akbar Daftary, the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires, called at my home late Friday evening, August 18, at my invitation, to discuss the contemplated expropriation of American college and school properties in Iran. Dr. Daftary had been out of town on leave and returned at my urgent request.
I showed Dr. Daftary the communications we had received from our Legation in Tehran regarding this matter and recited to him the substance of the attached telegraphic instruction no. 36 of August 18, 5 p.m., sent to Mr. Engert.
I told the Chargé d’Affaires that I thought we knew each other well enough by this time for me to speak to him with entire frankness. These American educational institutions had been in Iran for more than a hundred years; they had come into the country at a period when education in the western sense of the word was entirely unknown in Iran; they had educated several generations of Iranians who had risen to power and prominence in the country; above all, they had rendered an unforgettable service to Iran by setting up the first schools that ever existed in the country for the education of women; considering the vital interest which His Majesty has taken in the education and emancipation of women, it was only fair to give full honor and credit to these courageous American citizens who had made [Page 531] far-reaching strides along that line before Reza Shah was ever heard of in Iran.
All these services had been faithfully and loyally rendered in the interest of the Iranian people and there had never been the slightest breath of criticism directed against any phase of the activities of our institutions. Such being the case, I felt sure that Dr. Daftary would agree with me and I urged him to make it emphatically clear to his Government that the present notification to my fellow countrymen in Iran to evacuate their institutions and homes on a few days’ notice could not fail to shock American public opinion deeply and to lead to widespread publicity of the most unfavorable sort. I observed that neither the Chargé nor his Government could be unaware of our total inability to control press comment in a situation of this kind, should it unfortunately become public.
I reminded Dr. Daftary of an earlier conversation which I had had with him when I pointed out that members of the Presbyterian church occupy, in general, in this country positions of standing and prominence and that if Iran desires to be favorably known here, rather than the contrary, it would be distinctly in the Government’s interest to create a good impression among the parishioners of that church. Instead of subjecting our people in Iran to such inconsiderate treatment as that now contemplated, which contrasted sharply with the great traditions of courtesy and hospitality that have always been associated with the name of Iran, I said I would have hoped that when the time came for a termination of the century-long activities of my fellow countrymen in Iran the Iranians would come forward and thank the Americans generously for their outstanding services to the country, explain the need for consolidating all educational activities in the hands of the Government and wish them Godspeed.
Dr. Daftary seemed deeply moved by the above presentation of the case and promised to hurry back to the Legation at once and telegraph his Government yet that night.
The happy results of the joint efforts of the Department and the Iranian Legation are evident in Mr. Engert’s attached telegram of today.3 When I telephoned the information to Dr. Daftary, he said he had worked until two o’clock in the morning on his telegram and that he had told his Government in all frankness that it was impossible for him to preserve proper relations with the American press if these American nationals and educational institutions were to be treated in the abrupt and discourteous manner at first contemplated.
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