862.852/25
The Minister in the Dominican Republic (Norweb) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatch no. 901 of September 19, 1939 and to report further developments regarding the interest of the Compañía Naviera Dominicana, C. por A., in acquiring German vessels.
Mr. H. N. Hansard, the administrator of the Trujillo owned company, again brought the subject up in a conversation with an officer of the Legation and stated that it had been determined that the vessel under consideration was one of the Horn Line ships now in Curacao. It was intimated that the bill of sale had already been drawn up before it was discovered definitely that the ship was German. Hansard made a point of stating that as soon as he learned that the ship was German he wished to drop the matter completely and consequently he was looking for an excuse to do so, implying that he had reluctantly pursued the matter thus far under orders from his chief.
Nevertheless, interest is still evinced in the possibility of acquiring a German vessel at a bargain and evidently the subject was brought up in order to sound out the attitude which the Legation might take in the event that the purchase were effected and also as a possible means of settling in their own minds whether or not they could take [Page 75] advantage of this opportunity within the scope of the arrangements made at Panamá on this subject.
It may be added in conclusion that this might have been one of the subjects discussed by Hansard with General Trujillo during his recent sudden and unexpected trip to the United States referred to in page 7 of the memorandum to despatch no. 928 of October 5, 1939.24
Respectfully yours,
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