839.51/4161
The Dominican Minister ( Pastoriza ) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the Dominican Government, in fulfillment of the promise made by Generalissimo Doctor Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina to His Excellency, President Roosevelt, in the letter which he addressed to him on October 25, 1939, in response to a letter dated August 4th of the same year, which the former received during his stay in Paris from the first mandatary of the United States, is willing to offer to the Government of the United States, as bases for a satisfactory modification of the Dominican-American Convention of 1924, all guaranties necessary to arrive at the conclusion of a new instrument which shall replace, to the mutual advantage, the one which is today existing between our two countries.
Generalissimo Doctor Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, in the aforementioned communication, expressed to His Excellency, President Roosevelt, that the new bases of discussion which the Dominican Government proposed to submit to the Department of State for consideration, would comprise the essential points which the Department of State has emphasized, and would eliminate, at least in part, the provisions of the Convention of 1924, which the Dominican Republic has considered prejudicial to her sovereignty. The plan which, in accordance with that promise, the Dominican Republic hereby submits to the United States Government for consideration, tends substantially [Page 594] to strengthen the guaranty which the Convention in force assures to the Bondholders, since it pledges to the service of the external debt the total of our revenues which amount to more than twelve million dollars per annum. The security stipulated by the Convention in force, on the contrary, amounts to only two million six hundred dollars approximately, which sum is considerably lower than that mentioned in this new plan which obviously constitutes proof of our sincere desire to conciliate the points of view of the two Governments and to facilitate between them an agreement designed to eliminate the only problem of an international nature which remains between our two nations.
The plan which, according to instructions received from my Government, I have the honor to submit to the Department of State for consideration, may be summarized as follows:
- First.—The Government of the United States and the Government of the Dominican Republic agree to repeal the Convention of December 27, 1924.
- Second.—The Government of the United States and the Government of the Dominican Republic, appoint, by mutual agreement, the National City Bank of New York as depositary for the general funds of the Dominican Government, and agree that an employee of the said bank shall act therein in the capacity of representative of the Fiscal Agent of the (external) loans. During the first few days of each month, that employee (representative) shall receive, by indorsement, the sum which represents the payment of the amortization and interest on the loans of 1922 and 1926, by means of pay orders which shall be handed to the bank by the Dominican Government through the Secretariat of State of Treasury and Commerce.
- Third.—The Government of the Dominican Republic undertakes not to dispose of the funds which are received by the bank until it has set apart and paid in full the sum which corresponds to the amortization and interest on the external debt.
- Fourth.—It is understood that the amortization of the external bonds of 1922 and 1926 shall be made in accordance with the agreement reached with the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council, Inc., under date of August 16, 1934.12
If, inspired by the good disposition which the Honorable President Roosevelt displayed for the solution of this problem, as he expressed in the letter dated August 4th, last, addressed to Generalissimo Trujillo, that the Government of the United States would study with benevolent understanding any new proposals submitted by the Dominican Government, the Department of State studies these new grounds of discussion with friendly interest, the efforts which our two Governments are making in order to solve this problem, no doubt will, in this instance, bring about the result which both parties desire and which they have pursued up to this time without having been able to find a satisfactory solution.
[Page 595]This new plan, in fact, bears evidence that the interest which the Dominican Government is pursuing in the solution of this matter is primarily of a moral nature and corresponds above all to our legitimate aspiration to reestablish completely our sovereignty which has been prejudiced by the Dominican-American Convention of 1924 and to give this international instrument, at the same time, a meaning and direction, compatible with the profound and sincere friendship which today exists between our two countries.
I avail myself [etc.]