Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1939, The American Republics, Volume V

711.39/295: Telegram

The Minister in Haiti ( Mayer ) to the Secretary of State

Port-au-Prince , March 23, 1939—11 p.m.
[Received March 24—9:25 a.m.]

37. In a conversation this morning the Minister of Foreign Affairs¹ showed great disquietude over the general European situation and Haiti’s future with respect thereto. Reference was made to a talk with Duggan² and myself summarized in my confidential letter to the Under Secretary of March 8.³

After further discussion the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked me to inquire whether you are favorable to his ideas, which he states are President Vincent’s, and which appear now to contemplate the following action:

A formal declaration by the Haitian Government with respect to hemispheric defense in line with statements recently published and reiterated by the Haitian delegation at the Lima Conference.⁴ This declaration would take the logical step of referring to concrete Haitian contribution to hemispheric defense in the form of necessary protective works and an air base, et cetera, in the region of Gonaives, whether on the mainland or on the island of Gonave, or both to be undertaken and maintained by the United States. This declaration would be replied to by a statement by the United States. Our delegation would fall in with the idea and at the same time would contain phraseology constituting a guarantee by the United States of the political and territorial sovereignty of Haiti. Furthermore there should, if possible, be simultaneously a similar exchange of declarations with the Dominican Government mutatis mutandis or at least the offer of such parallel action.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The presence of a large part of our fleet at Gonaives and the numerous naval visits at Port-au-Prince and elsewhere have confirmed the tremendous popularity of the navy here and the Minister for Foreign Affairs’ statement with regard to the genuine pro-Americanism of the Haitian people. I believe that now is the time to capitalize this to Haiti’s benefit and our own.

Mayer

1. Leon Laleau.
2. Laurence Duggan, Chief of the Division of the American Republics, visited Port-au-Prince February 26–March 2 on the return journey to the United States following his attendance at the Eighth International Conference of American States at Lima.
3. Not found in Department files.
4. For correspondence concerning this Conference, see Foreign Relations, 1938, vol. v, pp. 1 ff.