890D.5151/16
The Consul General at Beirut (Palmer) to the Secretary of State
No. 556
Beirut, June 11,
1940.
[Received July 12.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the
Department’s instruction of April 29, 1940 (file no. 890D.5151/15),
regarding the transfer of [Page 940]
inheritances from the mandated territory to heirs domiciled in the
United States, and to enclose a memorandum of a further conversation
on this subject that took place between an official of the French
High Commission and an officer of the Consulate General.
The French official stated that the same restrictions that apply to
heirs in the United States were applicable to heirs domiciled in
other countries, including France and Great Britain. However, it is
common knowledge that money can be transferred from the States of
the Levant under French Mandate to France without difficulty, and
that it is much easier to obtain foreign exchange in Sterling than
in dollars.
It appears that for the present there is nothing that I can do beyond
advising inquirers that the rules governing foreign exchange
preclude the transfer to the United States of the proceeds from the
sale of inheritances.
In view of the depreciation of the French franc, and of the
Syro-Lebanese pound which is attached to it, and of the probability
of further depreciation, it would appear advisable for American
citizens who have interests in real estate in the mandated territory
to retain those interests for the time being, and not to convert
them into money until circumstances have changed. I have so advised
a number of correspondents recently and shall continue to do so
unless instructed otherwise.
In view of the present military situation, no copy of this despatch
is being sent to Paris.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Consul at
Beirut (Gwynn)
The Department’s instruction of April 29, 1940 (file no.
890D.5151/15), having arrived, I called on M. Conty to discuss
again the subject of the transfer of inheritances from the
mandated territory to persons domiciled in the United States. I
hoped to be able to convince him that it would be more politic
to make some arrangement whereby the proceeds from the
liquidation of estates, at least in certain cases where the
amount involved is small, might be transferred than to adopt a
hard and fast practice of refusing to consider such transfers.
The Havas bulletins and the local press have carried a number of
items recently concerning the very considerable sums that are
now being [Page 941] raised in
the United States for humanitarian uses in France. While the
transfer of estates cannot be put into the same category, there
is often a humanitarian side to the cases, particularly in those
in which the amount to be transferred is small. This comes out
clearly in correspondence which is currently received by the
Consulate General, not only from the interested parties but also
from relief workers and persons and organizations interested in
assisting the destitute. These latter are certain to hear about
cases where people in need in America are forced to ask for
charity because they cannot obtain possession of money that is
rightfully theirs and to resent the action that gives rise to
such situations. However, M. Conty did not appear to see any
merit in such an argument. He said that the matter had been
discussed, a decision reached, and the question settled as far
as Beirut is concerned. Should contrary instructions be received
from Paris, they would, he said, be followed as a matter of
course.
I was prepared to explain to him the detail of a number of cases.
One of these is that of . . ., who has written several times: he
and his family have about $150 due them, of which they appear to
be in great need; the money, 306 Syrian pounds, is in the hands
of Abraham Sabah, Khiam, Lebanon, who is anxious to send it, but
cannot. However, in view of what had been said, I saw there was
no use in going on.
I asked M. Conty if the same restrictions were applicable to
countries other than the United States, particularly to Great
Britain and France. He said that the restrictions were general
and applied to all countries.
