867.144/28
The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 30.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s despatch no. 1360 of February 13, 1940 reporting the reopening of the American Language and Commercial School and Student Hostel at Istanbul, which were closed together with their parent organization, the Y.M.C.A., last December, and to submit an account of recent developments concerning these institutions.
In pursuance of the plan mentioned in the closing paragraphs of the Embassy’s recent despatch under reference, the consular officer in charge at Istanbul called on the Governor on February 16 to repeat the suggestion already made to him at Ankara by an official of this [Page 997] Embassy that the Y.M.C.A. be permitted to liquidate its branch at Istanbul in a manner befitting the international standing of this respected American organization and that to this end all the remaining seals which had been placed by the Police on its property and that of its affiliated institutions should be removed. The Governor indicated his sympathetic attitude toward this suggestion but said that as no legal provision existed as to the manner of liquidation of an association which had been closed for non-conformity with the new Law on Associations, he had been obliged to refer the question to Ankara for decision. This seemed a favorable development, as the viewpoint of officials in Ankara relative to the Y.M.C.A. has consistently been broader and more friendly than that of the provincial and municipal authorities in Istanbul. A copy of Mr. Latimer’s memorandum of his conversation with the Governor is enclosed.50
On March 3 the Consulate General at Istanbul was informed that the Y.M.C.A. had received an official reply from the Governor’s Office to its petition of June 13, 1939 for approval of its constitution under the Law on Associations. This reply, a copy of which is enclosed, was noncommittal and consisted merely of a statement that the Y.M.C.A. had been closed because it had been found not to be in conformity with certain points of the Law on Associations. Reference to these points was made in the Embassy’s despatch of January 15, 1940.
On March 8, Mr. Satterthwaite51 of this Embassy called on Bay Faik Hozar, Director General of the Second Section of the Foreign Office, in order to call the Ministry’s attention to the fact that the question of the final disposal of the Y.M.C.A. had been referred to Ankara by the Governor of Istanbul and to request that the Foreign Office follow up the matter with a view to reinforcing the suggestions already made to the Governor by the Consulate General. Bay Hozar evidenced a favorable attitude toward this request and agreed to take up the matter with the Ministry of the Interior. A copy of Mr. Satterthwaite’s memorandum of his interview is enclosed.
Early in March Mr. Arnold E. Jenny, a Y.M.C.A. secretary sent out by the New York headquarters of the International Y.M.C.A., arrived at Istanbul. As stated in a letter of introduction to the Governor of Istanbul from Bay Munir Ertegün, Turkish Ambassador at Washington, which Mr. Jenny brought with him, he was sent here for the purpose of carrying out the liquidation of the Y.M.C.A. at Istanbul. Mr. Jenny has informed the Consulate General and the Governor of Istanbul that it is the further intention of his principals that he remain here for a period of about six months to act as advisor [Page 998] to the American School of Language and Commerce during the transition period in which the School will take over the activities previously administered by the Y.M.C.A.
The Consulate General arranged an appointment for Mr. Jenny to present his letter of introduction to the Governor of Istanbul on March 13. He was introduced by Mr. Luther Fowle, Treasurer of the American Board of Foreign Missions headquarters at this city, who has voluntarily acted as the godfather of the Y.M.C.A. at Istanbul in the absence of an American secretary. The interview apparently took place in an informal and cordial atmosphere and when the request was made by Mr. Jenny that the seals be removed from the Y.M.C.A. premises so that the Association might carry out its liquidation and the School be relieved of the remaining restrictions on its activities, the Governor intimated that orders would be given along these lines. Although the Governor did not commit himself as to the exact action to be taken, Mr. Jenny and Mr. Fowle are hopeful that in due time approximately the results desired may be achieved, and the Embassy is inclined to agree with this viewpoint. Copies of Mr. Jenny’s letter of introduction and of Mr. Fowle’s memorandum on the interview with the Governor are enclosed.
It may be added that on February 16, 1940, an official permit was received by the Turkish Director of the American School of Language and Commerce and the Student Hostel from the Istanbul Department of Education confirming the previously granted verbal permission to reopen these two institutions. A copy of this permit is enclosed herewith.
Respectfully yours,