[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Ambassador in
Cuba (Wright)
The recent memoranda, transmitted by despatches, have explained the
kaleidoscopic changes which have taken place in the matter of the
settlement of the Public Works Debt. The most recent development
appears to be encouraging:
When I called upon the President of the Republic yesterday in order
to deliver to him the expression of President Roosevelt’s
appreciation of his prompt and satisfactory reply with regard to the
messages sent by President Roosevelt to Chancellor Hitler and
Premier Mussolini,13 I had it in mind to inquire of the President when I
might discuss with him the matter of the claims of Warren Brothers
Incorporated and Purdy and Henderson Company—for it will be recalled
from my despatch No. 1871 of April 14, 1939,14 that I had communicated
the relevant portions of Mr. Welles’ letter to me, of March
25th,15 to Colonel Batista, but not to the President.
The President, however, most unexpectedly, broached this subject
himself by saying: “I think the matter of the ‘obligaciones’ is now
satisfactorily adjusted and I am glad to tell you so. Of course,
every one knows that there has been a slight cloud in connection
with the claim of Purdy and Henderson Company but, in view of
existing circumstances, it seems much wiser to pass that over.”
As I felt that I could not allow this repeated aspersion upon Purdy
and Henderson Company to pass entirely unnoticed, I replied that
neither my Government nor I was prepared to admit that there had
been any irregularity in connection with this claim and I emphasized
the fact that it had been examined and passed upon by two
Commissions and no less than three Secretaries of the Treasury: I
added that I had received assurances from the present Secretary of
the Treasury that the examination which he and Señor Montoulieu16 had conducted
[Page 527]
had satisfied the Secretary as to the
justice of the claim and that he saw no reason for again bringing up
the contentious question of the percentage of remuneration, which
had already been accepted on behalf of the Government. The President
made no reply to this observation which I wished to place on record
with him as well as with Colonel Batista.
In order to make the record especially clear, I improved the
opportunity to explain to him that while I had discussed the matter
with Colonel Batista and with the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant
to instructions, I had not assumed the initiative in discussing it
with members of the legislative body—and had only done so when such
legislators broached the subject to me: the President stated that he
was aware of my attitude, and he was good enough to say that he
appreciated it and commended it. I then said that I was in receipt
of a letter from Mr. Welles which authorized me to speak in his name
both to the President and to Colonel Batista with regard to this
matter (I refer to Mr. Welles’ letter dated March 25th) and that I
had conveyed this message orally to Colonel Batista some days ago—at
which time he had informed me that he would communicate it to the
President: the President replied that Colonel Batista had done so. I
then said that I trusted that he (the President) would immediately
recognize the fact that I had deferred my representations to him
pending the result of my conversation with Batista although, as I
had said, I had intended to request of him that day the opportunity
for the communication of that message: the President replied that he
was so aware.
I then said to him that our position could be concisely stated as
follows: we were still ready and willing to extend to Cuba the
advantages which had been recited and discussed in the formulation
of the so-called Ten Points agreed upon during Colonel Batista’s
visit to Washington;17 that the continued procrastination in
the matter of this Public Works indebtedness had assumed such forms
that I had been reluctantly constrained to inform all appropriate
officials of the Cuban Government who had discussed the matter with
me, that no credits could be expected unless or until these
recognized obligations had been met; and that the present apparent
reluctance of Congress to do so was jeopardizing the Supplemental
Trade Agreement—to say nothing of the other matters enumerated in
the aforementioned Ten Points. I added that when the legislators had
spoken to me I had observed that if the delay and non-fulfillment
were due to a recalcitrant opposition, it seemed to me that the
responsibility should be placed squarely upon
[Page 528]
the shoulders of such opposition and
that the public should be aware of the fact that those parties were
the ones who were to blame: I added, however, that this was all
predicated upon the assumption that the Government of Cuba desired
to receive these advantages and that, while my Government was still
desirous of according them upon a reciprocal basis, it was for the
Government of Cuba to determine whether it desired to receive them
or not.
I closed by saying that these observations might perhaps appear
inopportune in view of what he had just told me, but that I wished
to place on record with him, as I had done with Colonel Batista, the
attitude of our Government in the simplest terms. The President
expressed acquiescence and added to his previous assurances the fact
that he had spoken to, and was continuing that day to speak with,
various members of Congress.
